§ 44. Mr. Teelingasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement concerning the position of Japan's attendance at international trade conferences; and whether this question has been raised at the conference at Annecy.
§ Mr. BevinThe only relevant policy decision of the Far Eastern Commission provides that, on receipt of an appropriate invitation, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers may send to any intergovernmental conference an observer delegation composed of members of his own staff and accompanied where necessary by Japanese technical personnel. The Far Eastern Commission now have before them a proposal by the United States which would give the Supreme Commander discretion to permit Japan 425 to participate in a wide variety of international negotiations. The answer to the last part of the Question is, "No, Sir."
§ Mr. TeelingDoes this mean that now or at any time members of the actual Japanese Government will be allowed to take part in such negotiations or will the Japanese representatives only be American subjects accompanied by technicians?
§ Mr. BevinWe must await the discussion referred to in the second part of my answer. The question of giving this discretion is on the agenda. We must ascertain from the United States exactly what it is they propose.