Intense speculation was aroused here today by the arrival of Herr Emil Helfferich, Reich Counsellor, President of the East Asiatic Society of Hamburg, and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hamburg-Amerika Line.
The "Japan Times" an English-language daily, today claimed that Herr Hefferlich had come to sound Japanese public opinion towards Germany, in spite of emphatic statements by the German Embassy that his visit was wholly private. If Herr Hefferlich, the newspaper said, should find that German-Japanese relations are not favourable "there is every reason to assume" that the Reich will drift away from Japan, but should he reach the conclusion that the Japanese attitude towards Germany is friendly, "it is highly possible" that Berlin will assume a more definite attitude insofar as the China conflict is concerned.
The Foreign Office spokesman questioned by a foreign correspondent regarding Japanese press reports describing Herr Helfferich as "Hitler's emissary", said he had no knowledge of the object of the distinguished German's trip.
"Some Japanese business men," the spokesman said, were interested in Herr Helfferich's visit, which. he opined, was not of an official nature. Herr Helfferich arrived in Tokyo yesterday.—Domei.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.