Evening star., 1940-08-06
Brifain's Release
OF Prisoner Eases
Tension With Japan
Government Preparing
Statement to Submit
To Commons Today
sy the Associated Press.

b the Associated Press.
LONDON, Aug. 6.-Diplomatic
tension between Britain and Japan
appeared to ease today as the gov
ernment prepared statement on
the situation for presentation in the
House of Commons this afternoon
While the Foreign Office worked
on this problem, important to the
empires outposts in the Far East,
British air defense fought against
new German bombing raids on the
coast OF Northeast England, o. rural
area in Southeast England and
Wales.
The Air Minister announced that
one German bomber was intercepted
and shot down by British fighters
off the east coast Of England and
another was reported driven away
from a southeast coastal town by
anti-aircraft fire.
One Japanese Released.
Either Prime Minister Churchill
or UnderSecretary for Foreign
Affairs R. A. Butler was to go before
Commons with the government S
statement on British japanese rela-
tions.
Or the surface at least these rela-
tions were bettered by the release
last night of Satoru Makihara, Lon
don agent for the big Mitsubishi
business and banking interests, who
was arrested Friday night in a
roundup of Japanese throughout
the Empire.
The Home Office was said to have
decided that the evidence avail
able" was insufficient to warrant
further detention" of Makihara. He
and eight other japanese were ar
rested in drive the British said was
for home security. The government
denied the detentions were in re-
prisal for similar arrests of Britons
in Japan.
The other eight remained in
custody, including Shunsuke Takabe,
a London representative of the Nit
sui interests
Big Activity in North France.
With continuing German thrusts
BY air against various parts of the
British Isles, some observers thought
a major attack might come within
the next few days or possibly a
fortnight. The statement of Field
Marshal Goering, the German air
chief, that the raids so far have
been but armed reconnaissance was
accepted here as fair description
of the German strategy.
r. A. F. reconnaissance is under
stood to have disclosed large-scale
German activity in the occupied
areas of Northern France. All the
while the R. A. F. has been bomb
ing barges along the Holland and
Belgian coasts which the Germans
may have massed fo { attack.
Reports also have been reaching
here of sea preparations at the back
of the Baltic Sea and of activity in
Norway, where. it is rumored, some
italian troops have been sent.
The Germans are understood to
be making preparations in the Bal
tic as they did before the invasion
of Norway, when many troops were
embarked The idea would be to
send light craft carrying troops
through either the Kiel Canal or the
Skagerrak
Southeast Bombing.
The government this morning an
f1ounced German warplanes had
dropped a small number of bombs
in a few districts of Southeast Eng
land" during the night, but mo
damage or casualties were caused"
It was announced belatedly that an
additional enemy fighter was shot
down in air clashes Monday after
noon, making total of four for the
day.
The navy estimated today it had
lost 6,221 officers and men killed
or missing since the start of the
war-2988 killed or fatally wound
ed, 3,204 missing and % taken
prisoner. 1t was estimated 1,849
were wounded.
The Admiralty announced 81
British sailors died July 25 as a
result of an attack by Nazi dive
bombers on the destroyer Boreas in
the English Channel 1t was stated
25 others were wounded The de-
Strover returned damaged.