China, according to Baron Shidehara, isin a much move favourable situation internationally than was Japan in those days, for all the Pow-ave sincerely sympathetic with 1¢ national desiro+of China abolish all unequal treaties, yet the Chinese are too intent on censuring the Powars to make adequate effo to put their own house in onder, declaring that all the ills in China have their genovis in the unequal treaties, This was a false convistion, insisted the Japanese states. man,.who averred that unequal treaties are the result, not the cause, of defective domestic administration, Dealing with the action taken by the Nationalist Government in repudintinge the Sino-Japanese treaty of commerce and navigation, Baron Shidehara emphasized that ' Japan could not very well acquiesce fu the Intorpretation of the Nationalist Government, and that, if Nanking! inslated on sticking to' its point of view, the result would be a frontal collision between the two countries. He declared that, if the Nationalist Government dropped this unreasonable stand and asked for the opening of negotiations to revise the! resent treaty by appealing to the friendly sentiment of Japan towards! China, no Government could hesitfate to accede to so reasonable a request.
He blamed the Tanaka Ministry for employing "unnecessary and ill advised language" in replying to the Chinese proposal for a new treaty, which he said only resulted in rendering the situation worse. The} chief aim of: the China policy of Japanese Government must be promote friendly ce-operation between the two countries, with an eye on the future, but he saw no Reason at all why Japan should
rights and interests in China ring. threatened or encroached her Tegitimate and import-upon, The policy of China's domestic affairs is by no means incompatible with the policy of protecting Japan's rights and interests," the former Foreign Minister proceeded. "The two policies ought to go hand in hand, for Japan's rights and interests in. the Three Eastern Provinces were built up through heavy sacrifices and tremendous efforts and have close bearings on the national existence of Japan, so that, no matter what, form of government may be adopted in the Three Eastern Provinces, these rights and interests must remain absolutely unimpaired."
Declaring that Japan should salitely, though calmly, reject_any demand' that may be made by either the Mukden authorities or the Nationalist Government which might undermine her legitimate interests and rights in Manchuria, Baron Shidehara said that, though he was 'a warm friend of China, at the same time he would like to make it clear that any attempts to disregard the hard Jabours and heavy sacrifices made by the Japanese fi people in the. past with regard to Mancbaria and any intention to threaten the existence of the sovereign state of Japan would be resolutely resisted by the entire Japanese people. On this point the whole nation was agreed. He had never heard of the Nationalist authorities, either overtly or covertly, ntenfing to take any such "destroy:
ive" action, and he though res Mere eae be ce Government not to show over-neryousress, which would have the adverse effect of creating in other minely the misunderstanding that Japan's ease Had some weakness Baron Tanaka severely censured thave Japanese who refer to Manchuria and Mongolia as though these regions are a special zone of Japan's, and he expressed the opin-jon that the recent declaration of the Government that it aimed at making Manchuria' and Mongolia safe places "for Japanese and other nationals to live in" was very ill-advised, as it was apt to invite the misunderstanding that Japan poses as though she exercised a veiled protectorate over there areas.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.