Your 100. [1]

1. It is difficult to know how best to answer your enquiries since
I tried to cover the main issues you raise in the political
section of my monthly report for August despatched September 9th.

Since you should receive this report at any moment it is hardly
desirable to attempt to cover the same ground in detail in this
telegram.

2. My sources of enquiries here are-
(a) published statements,
(b) unofficial conversations,
(c) second-hand reports which I try to [2]

Considered together they point in the following direction. 3. The
actions of the Japanese Government are controlled by S.C.A.P.

American policy is not interested in Japan as Japan but as a
strategic area. Every Japanese problem is analysed and decided in
terms of relations between America and Russia.

4. Many S.C.A.P. senior officers believe that war with Russia
inevitable and consequently wish to get it over as soon as
possible while 'we have the bomb'. MacArthur himself believes that
war with Russia may be averted. The reason for this is that he
believes that he and his American troops have completely converted
the Japanese from a militarist and feudal people to a peace-loving
and democratic people within one year and that it is surely
possible to convert the Russian people likewise. He sets great
store on the increasing contacts of Russians and western democrats
particularly American and British Governments [3], and believes
that Russians who have the advantage of such contacts will return
home eager to convert their extremist comrades to the democratic
way of life understood in the American sense.

5. I believe that MacArthur has lost political judgement. Several
influential Japanese have in the present [4] session scoffed at
MacArthur's remarkable statement of 3rd September. [5] May I
repeat what I have said in earlier telegrams. I do not believe
there has been any real transfer of political alliance [6] in
Japan despite the purge and I can find no evidence of change of
outlook in those who hold political power. There is plenty of
evidence of ill-will towards the Tojo Government for its
gravitation in tactics and timing which lost Japan the war.

6. It is hard to convey an impression of mutual loyalty and
goodwill which is steadily developing between senior Russians and
influential Japanese personalities.

7. Gascoigne lately told me that he had asked Atcheson whether he
reciprocated hospitality with the Japanese. Atcheson replied,
according to Gascoigne, 'of course the time for punishing these
people is past'.

8. Concerning first sentence of paragraph one of your 100, I have
been told by a usually reliable American correspondent that the
chief of the S.C.A.P. Public Relations Section informed
correspondents of this demonstration 24 [7] in advance and that
this was the first occasion on which S.C.A.P. had given advance
notice of demonstrations to the Press.

9. To sum up I do not feel that there has been any major change in
American policy recently but there has been a rapid response to
inhibitions about indictments of the Soviet menace and
commendation of the Japanese.