You are instructed to inform the Imperial Japanese Government
immediately that a state of war exists and has existed between His
Majesty's Government in the Commonwealth of Australia and the
Imperial Japanese Government as from 5 O'clock in the afternoon,
9th [1] December, 1941. [2]
EVATT
1 This should read 8th December. See Document 172, note 3.
2 Evatt informed the Japanese Minister to Australia, Tatsuo Kawai,
of the contents of this cablegram in a letter dispatched the same
day (on file AA: A981, War 69, ii). The Japanese Foreign Minister,
Shigenori Togo, had already advised Officer on 8 December that a
state of war existed between Japan and Australia as from that day.
Officer drafted a cablegram (no. 531) to this effect on 8
December, but it does not appear to have been dispatched from
Tokyo until to December. See the Canberra copy of no. 531 (on file
AA: A981, War 53A) and the Tokyo legation copy (subsequently
brought back to Australia by Officer) On file AA: A981, Japan 181,
iv.
