Repeated to Commonwealth Government

Cablegram 1568/22 TOKYO, 14 August 1940, 6.15 p.m.

Received 15 August 1940

My telegram 1563 to the Foreign Office only. [1]

The Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs [2] sent for the Counsellor
[3] today and informed him that the Japanese Consul-General at
Sydney [4] had telegraphed that I had spoken on 17th July to the
late Minister of Foreign Affairs [5] in the sense reported in my
telegram 1281 [6] and that the Australian Government must know for
Constitutional reasons by 16th August, when Parliament rose,
whether the Japanese Government agreed to the appointment.

2. The Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs said that the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs had no record of my conversation with the late
Minister for Foreign Affairs and that [Counsellor had been asked]
[7] but could not recollect it.

3. The Counsellor has accordingly spoken to the Vice-Minister for
Foreign Affairs on my instructions in the sense of your telegram
695 [8] and informed him of my conversation with the late Minister
for Foreign Affairs on 17th July. The Vice-Minister for Foreign
Affairs replied that the Japanese Government welcome the
appointment of an Australian Minister here and will appoint
Japanese Minister to Australia as soon as possible. He will submit
to the Emperor the name of Sir J. Latham [9] and will inform the
Japanese Consul-General at Sydney accordingly today.