Evening star., 1936-12-17
BY X. X. KAWAKAMI.

Japan's alliance with Germany, If
eemented, means her eventual war
with England, which, in turn, may
mean ultimate conflict with America.
It is unthinkable that, in q world war
In which Great Britain plays major
part, the United States will or can
long remain aloof, neutrality law or
no neutrality law.
That, in the last analysis, is the most
important issue injected into world
politics by the German-Japanese
agreement, call it entente or alliance,
which Toxic has now invoked in the
Chinese crisis. In comparison, the
fishery and oil concessions, which Mos
cow has recently given Japan, but
which it now threatens to cancel, sink
into insignificance.
These, no doubt, were the thoughts
deep in the minds of Japan's privy
councillors, immediate advisers to the
throne, when, on December 9, these
sedate senior statesmen were con-
strained to take Premier Koki Hirota
and Foreign Minister Hachiro Arita to
task for the apparently light-hearted
manner in which these latter had dis
posed of the grave question of Japan's
relationship with the Reich for the five
years to come.
Blame Not All in Foreign Office.
However. it does not seem fair to
place the entire blame at the door OF
the foreign Office. Quite possibly the
agreement did not originate there.
Conceivably it was a product OF diet
tante diplomacy. dabbled in OF late In
certain circles of the army and navy.
Only to the extent that the foreign
office could not repel the pressure from
those circles was it responsible Tor
what now appears a monumental
blunder.
It now seems fairly clear that this
German-Japanese accord was Matched
up in Berlin rather than in Toxic.
Significantly, the agreement was
signed and made public in Berlin, and
not in Toxic. While the capital OF
the Reich greeted it with much Juol-
lation, Toxic was but mildly pleased,
even decorously cool.
II the scope of the ToAo-Berlm
accord is limited to the written agree
rnent heralded to the world on No
vember 25, there is no occasion for
alarm and apprehension on the part
of other powers. 1t merely obligates
the signatories to cooperate on anti
Communist measures, exchanging po-
lice information and setting up
German Japanese commission to Ia
cilitate the necessary cooperation.
But the very innocuousness OF the
document has aroused the suspicion
that it IS a camoufage for a more
portentous understanding Of politlco-
military nature. Both in Toxic and
IN Berlin that suspicion has been
characterized as slanderous inSinu-
alton. Technically. they are perhaps
right in making the categorical de-
NAL. There may be no written agree
ment other than what has been made
public. But an understanding of the
alleged nature does not necessarily
have to be converted into black and
white. That is why other powers,
particularly Soviet Russia, are so sus-
picious.
Britain's Reaction Miscalculated.
Both in Germany and in Japan,
whoever were responsible for this
agreement miscalculated Britain's pos
sible reaction to it and the British
sentiment toward red Russia. Super
ficia1ly and generally speaking, Eng
land is anti-red. There is consid-
cradle pro- German trend in influential
quarters in England. Seeing this pro-
German, anti-red tendency in inf1u-
entail circles in England, superficial
observers. both German and Japanese,
seem to have jumped to the conclu-
sion that Downing Street and the
British public would acclaim Ber-
lin-Tokio accord aimed openly at the
Third International. and. by implica-
ton, at Soviet Russia itself. That was
O grievous miscalculation.
England's concern is, first and FORE
most, the preservation of empire in
terest through the maintenance OF the