'What Delayed Japan's Final Memorandum' lecture

[Taro Toporific]

Sorry about the cross posting directly from another news group but it sounds rather interesting....

Date: 12/6/2004 2:40:00 PM From: Kumao Kaneko
Subject: NBR'S JAPAN FORUM (POL) "What Delayed Japan's Final Memorandum" (lecture Tokyo Dec. 7)

On the occasion of the 63rd anniversary of Japan's "surprise attack" on Pearl Harbor, an interesting lecture meeting will be held at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan (near Yurakucho-station) . The speaker will be one of my old colleagues at Gaimusho, Professor Takeo Iguchi (former Ambassador to New Zealand) who is the son of a political counselor at the Japanese Embassy in Washington in December 1941. I suppose he will try hard to vindicate his father, as well as Ambassador/Admiral Nomura, against the wide-spread allegation that it was due to the negligence of the Embassy staff that that critical memorandum was not delivered to the US government prior to the attack, thus making it possible for President Roosevelt to declare the "Day of Infamy".
For further details of the lecture meeting, please read the following notice which is on the website of the FCCJ (http://www.fccj.or.jp/">(http://www.fccj.or.jp/). Those living in Tokyo area are cordially invited and, if interested, should log in to reserve a seat. Sorry for such a short notice.
Best wishes, K. Kaneko

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Takeo Iguchi, "What Delayed Japan's Final Memorandum" Professional Dinner, Takeo Iguchi, Former Ambassador & Professor at Shobi-Gakuen University
December 07, 2004 18:30
Please log in to RSVP (18:

30-20:30 Tuesday, December 7, the speech and Q & A will be in English)

"What Delayed The Delivery Of Japan's Final Memorandum To The U.S. Government On December 7, 1941?"

More than six decades after Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, on Oct. 14, published a series of newly released documents related to the Final Memorandum delivered to the U.S. Government one hour after the attack.
The documents were found in diplomatic archives by Prof. Takeo Iguchi, son of a Japanese Embassy official who was based in Washington in 1941. The documents reveal that the ministry's original intention was to submit a note that would qualify as an "ultimatum" under international law, but the army opposed this and pressured the ministry to change the message to merely inform Washington that negotiations had been terminated.
Then, when the Final Memorandum was cabled to the Japanese Embassy in Washington, its concluding paragraph and supplementary corrigenda cables were withheld for 15 hours. As a result, embassy officials were unable to transmit the message at 1:00 p.m., as they had been instructed by Tokyo.
Another new finding by Iguchi is that President Roosevelt's message to the Emperor, sent the day before the attack, was seized by the army for decoding, delaying reaction and dispatch of the Memorandum's final paragraph by up to 10 hours.
Iguchi will discuss these and other issues on Dec. 7, the 63rd anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack.
Born in Shanghai in 1930, Iguchi was in Washington, D.C. in December 1941. His father served as counselor at the Japanese Embassy, working under Ambassador Nomura at the outbreak of the Pacific War.
Iguchi graduated from Tokyo University and joined the Foreign Affairs Ministry in 1953. He studied at St. John's College, Oxford, and received a master's degree in 1956.
During his career with the ministry, he served in the Philippines, France and the United Nations in New York. He was the first Japanese Consul-General in Boston and was ambassador in turn to Dominican Republic, Bangladesh and New Zealand.
While attached to the Japanese Embassy in Washington, he was a visiting professor at the University of Virginia Law School (1986-87). He became a professor of Tokai University Law School in 1993 and later a visiting professor at International Christian University. He now teaches international relations at Shobi-Gakuen University.
Don't miss this timely event and perhaps be a witness to something new being added to the historical record.
To help us plan properly, please reserve in advance: at the Front Desk (3211-3161) or on-line (http://www.fccj.or.jp -- please log in to reserve). The charge is 1,750 yen per person (tax incl.) and includes a buffet dinner. Reservations canceled less than 24 hours in advance will be charged in full.

[cstaylor]

Exactly. It wasn't a mistake, it was a preplanned sneak attack.

"December 7th, 1941, a date that will live in infamy, the United States was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

It worked so successfully against the Russians in 1905, why not try it again? Too bad they didn't think about improving their coding system before having their heads handed to them during the Battle of Midway.