They are told in the statement, says the journal, that Japan expects them "correctly to appreciate her aims and policy and adapt their attitude to the new conditions prevailing in East Asia."
"The paper says this means that Japan expects the Powers to subscribe to her newly-enunciated so-called Monroe Doctrine of Asia.
The "Kokumin Shimbun" believes that the Government statement forms a declaration of independence The interview took place in a Chinese bank building which had been converted into a German restaurant before the Japanese occupation, and is now a military headquarters. General Hata said that he did not know how long his headquarters would remain in Hankow.
Commenting on General Chiang Kai-shek's announcement of new tactics, General Hata said, "We are quite prepared for them," but admitted that not all of China's military power had been destroyed, and that the Chinese are "good fighters.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.