"There can be no peace until China changes her attitude and ceases provocative acts," said General Iwane Matsui, the commander of the Japanese forces landed in the Shanghai neighbourhood, in a press interview yesterday. He referred to statements made by officials of the Japanese Embassy from time to time to the effect that since August 14 the Chinese have made no attempt to negotiate. The Japanese army and navy, General Matsui stated, are here to protect the honour of the Japanese Empire and the rights and property of Japanese nationals in this vicinity.
General Matsui, who is reputed to be one of the hardiest soldiers in the Japanese army, paid a generous tribute to the courage of the Chinese soldiers who attempted unsuccessfully to resist the Japanese landing early on Monday morning. The Japanese, he said, lost more than 100 men during the operations, but he admitted that the casualty list is as yet by no means complete, since the troops landed at a number of different points. Most of the casualties suffered by the Japanese were caused by land-mines which had been laid by the Chinese. Many of these mines exploded while the Japanese troops were still moving towards their objectives.
General Matsui said that the Japanese troops, after landing, had moved towards the south and towards the west. He declined to state the number of troops landed or what units or divisions were taking part in the operations. All vital military information, he said, must of necessity be withheld. replied:
"Since the present hostilities round Shanghai have been caused by the provocation of the Chinese, we are in the main endeavouring to maintain generally the original key positions which are fundamentally necessary for the purpose of self-defence and for the protection of Japanese nationals residing there. We have not made any further advance from Asked what should be the attitude of the foreign Powers towards the resent situation in Shanghai, he said The attitude of Japan being such as I have stated, it is needless to say that Japan is fully prepared to respect the rights and interests of third Powers during the present conflict, and, moreover, it is our firm convietion that the Powers will ultima'
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.