§ 63. Mr. Rhys Daviesasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the precise terms of the offer made by Japan to mediate between the belligerents in the present war and the reply of His Majesty's Government?
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Butler)In a recent communication to my right hon. Friend, the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs, after referring generally to the European war, observed that Japan was fully prepared to act as mediator or to take whatever action was calculated to restore peace and normal conditions not only in Greater East Asia but anywhere in the world. The Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs, in subsequent public statements (made, he has said, after consulting Germany), has indicated that his words were not to be regarded as an offer of mediation in the European war. In any case the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs 371 has been informed by the Prime Minister that in a cause of the kind for which we are fighting—a cause in no way concerned with territory, trade or material gains but affecting the whole future of humanity—there can be no question of compromise or parley.
§ Mr. DaviesMay we take it then that His Majesty's Government are not afraid of peace dawning upon Europe very soon?