§ 3.5 p.m.
VISCOUNT ELIBANKMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, since March 22, 1960, the approximately £1,000,000 pre-war claims of British nationals against Japan, which were filed in 1946, are any nearer settlement.]
§ THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE)No, my Lords. We are still hold up over the terms of the discharge.
VISCOUNT ELIBANKMy Lords, I thank the noble Marquess for that Answer. May I ask him whether he remembers that when the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Kishi, was here last July, the joint communiqué, and also Mr. Kishi, at a Press conference, stated that these long outstanding claims were to be settled at an early date? Has the noble Marquess anything to say about that?
§ THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNEMy Lords, I cannot remember what the Japanese Prime Minister said at the Press conference, but I well remember the terms of the joint communiqué, and Her Majesty's Government are certainly well aware of the time that has elapsed.