Mr. Sima pointed out that Mr. Arita attached the greatest importance to the economic aspect of the relations between Japan and the Netherlands East Indies as indicated by the Foreign Minister's replies to interpellations in the last session of the Diet, earlier this year, when Mr. Arita had expressed "in no equivocal terms" that Japan took only an economic interest in the South Seas region, including the Netherlands East Indies.
Asked if Mr, Arita's statement represented à reaffirmation of the Four-Power Treaty of 1922, Mr. Suma admitted that the pact remained in force, but added that the Foreign Minister, in his declaration, had aimed at preventing the European conflict from spreading to the Pacific area.
Mr. Suma evaded a direct answer to the question of whether or not he believed an invasion of the Netherlands by the European belligerents was likely.
(Continued on. page 8, col, 5)
(Continued on page 12, col. 4)
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.