... REF ID:A65432 

SECREi 

7 October 1944 

MeJ.lll»"andua to Chief B-IlI Branch 

Subject: Japane•e Compromise ot VichJ' Code ' ' 

It appears tl'Olll a Japano•• Toqo circ~ 1lhich bu l"ecentJ.7 

become readt&ble, that. tbe .Japanese were ·ret.c11rJg a Vicbr eod• in Augut, 

1943. The aente?Jce, "(Thia is baaed on nliable secret. intelligence.)", 

when appe.arina ill m.uaagea from TokJ'o bu 1n the past 1eeaecl to indicate 

aucaeeetul readina of a fOl"eign 17st.em.b 

Aoeording to Shig..S.tau'• ve:re1on& ot the Fnnch ae111age, 

"The French <.1lancellor {tti• Ambassador's SecMa.17) atated that when he 

called on Vice-Minister Mat~umot.o he referred to th• 11att•r ot GenGr&l 

Atta1re Bead ltur!.7ua' s retum to Tolqo and tha.t be hoped tb&t Kuriyama 

would continue in office in ordv to 1apron Japaneae-French relation1 

regarding lwang-ohow Wen am. an understanding Yiz-a-da France. 11 

In our French nr•ion or the same int.erri.ow, Baron l"ain° 

in elq>Nasing gratitude fo't' servic fi~ rendered bf Kr. Kuri.Jama said, 

"Bio knowledge ot the l'ralch WlliJ' or thinking and ot our language permitted 

us t.o a.wid mt.lll' millunderatandinga and cor.tri'Wte4 large13 ·to strengthening 

and 1mproving our relatione." 

On 17 PebNar;y 1943, Tanid, at that. time the Japanes• Poreip 

llird.atter, 1n a massage to Vicb7 discussirAg !~'ranch concesaiono at¥l extiraterritor1al righte in China statea th"t. • meesage deciphered b7 the 

Japaneae "shows that Prance, when she -g1ve1 up h•r conceeeiona and extraterr1\orial1tT in Chiu, ia going to fumish the CbwUd.n& clipl.ou.tic 

••ct1on with $11 uplanatorr etateet." 

A aesaage filed. in Shan&tiai on 18 Febl"Ualj" 1943 "b7 Coae9 

declares that "no renunciation has been formulated, nor arJ7 decl»raU.on 

addrossesd to the Hanking goverllllent n and turt.her 1 ntbe de.olaration ••• 

wu addreeaed to the Chineao nation" and t.~t he 1e 3 h&Ting tbie formula · toll.owed, precisely to avoid an., overture to the Govemraent or Mr. WAWG 

CHINO m.n 

'I'he .Fl"Cds a~ea retened to above were both Milt inf.AU, 

a 4-letter Btlbsti~t.ion cocle. While tho evidence d.otta not make it. 

absolutel.J' cert&in that. these messages nre the on-. referred to, t.he fact 

that PAU was the code generallT ueed tor the disaasion ot these neg~iationsf 

would make 1t seem probable that l AU ie the •rstea wb1oh the Japanaee had 

coapromieed. 

Declassified and approved for release by NSA on 04-25-2014 pursuantto E.O. 1352a 

:~.EGRET 
, 

U the Japane1e can read.I FAU the conaequ.uncea are extreaeq 

important at the present time aince at lout putt. or t,bo negotiations 

bet•een tbe VichT reproaantatiwa 1n the Fu East (Cosme, Decoux, iargllri.e) 

and the Free Fi-.nch Amhaseador in Berne (Verge) baa l>ean conducted in tbU 

systc. 

Encl 4 

SSA #66627 

SSA 1143634 

SSA 166938 - revi~ion 

SSA 194328 - J'ffi&ion 

&ss.l 1.143634 

Paul It. Hartetall 

H91U7 r. Gratt 

2d Lt, SiaC 

bet. SSA #4#18, #42.915 1 16662'1, le!J'192, 182913. .Alac, 

'IJ&a&i.o" Sumaey et 2 June 1943. 

CS.SA #94328 _ 

'ssA #66627 

9SSA #66938. Thia •••age is cloarly a rela7 •inc•, although 1t 1a 

acldreaaed to President Laval in Vichy, it twice spsake ot Mr. L&Yal 

in th• third person. Thu th• date ot the eriginal ... eage would 

probabq be before 18 Februart. . 

tcr. ror axuaple, SSA {166491, 666591, #66592,, 166937, 167Wl3, 

#67903, and IJ70434. 

llt w1U b• remembered that in February) 191.3, Japanese Ambassador 

Oshima in Berlin reported that Vich,- codes and ciphers had been turned 

ner to the Germana. er. "Magic:" SUJ11DU7 of 22 February 1943· 

_,