It is satisfactory to note that the official spokesman at Tokyo is disposed to follow the same line as the Japanese authorities here and express regre\—albeit a trifle diffidently—at the attack. on the British Ambassador's cars by Japanese aeroplanes. It is not at all clear what he is endeavouring to convey when he says that it is "unthinkable that a Japanese plane could have intentionally dropped a bomb and fired on the Ambassador's car". No-one imagines that the airmen made their attack knowing that the British Ambassador was in the car. But that they did make the attack is unquestionable as the apologies tendered here have shown, apart from the reports from the Ambassador's own staff. Still the spokesman appears at least to admit the main feature of the affair and in that respect he deserves credit which cannot unfortunately be given to the broadcast announcer on J.V.J. and J: KJ. at Tokyo. That official in giving the usual English broadcast of events at 9 p.m. on Aug. 26 asserted that the British Ambassador had been shot by the "outrageous Chinese soldiery." It is to be hoped that steps will be taken to correct this amazing perversion of facts. Incidentally, view of Japanese complaints that the famous phrase the "outrageous Chinese" first brought prominently to notice by General Kiyoshi Katsuki conveyed an inaccurate sense of the actual epithet in Japanese, it would be interesting to know why the Tokyo English broadcast adheres to it. Despite the cabled reports of official Japanese regrets at the attack on the British Ambassador's car it is by no means certain that the Japanese public is aware of the true facts, "It seems possible that the Broadcast announcement in English was merely a translation of the information officially made available, to the people of Japan in their own language. If this is so it might be well if the Japanese authorities were asked to reconsider that breach of international courtesy,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.