Atmosphere of War Hangs over Tokyo

[Globalization41]

The New York Times, Saturday, November 29,
1941: Over Tokyo last week was hanging the
atmosphere of war. Shops and offices, their
younger men called to colors, were short of
employees. Mass meetings, government
inspired, combined with a press campaign to
arouse popular sentiment over the danger of a
large-scale conflict in the Pacific. Government
departments were working under high pressure
and far into the night. Police guards were
strengthened around the embassies of the
United States and Great Britain. ... The
gloomy picture in Tokyo was in a sense a
reflection of diplomatic conversations
proceeding in Washington. It was a fortnight
ago that Saburo Kurusu, special envoy from
the Japanese Foreign Office, landed at the
American capital's new and glittering airport.
He had been sent to stave off a possible Pacific
clash between his nation and the United States.
Last week his mission seemed to be
approaching its climax.

Rome, By Telephone to The New York Times,
Saturday, November 29, 1941: A conflict in
the Pacific would lead to a Japanese drive for
Sumatra and Borneo, the Italian Oil Review
writes in an issue published today. It
demonstrates by figures that the Japanese must
have the Netherlands Indies supplies. ... Japan
needs 900,000 tons of gasoline a year for her
industries, 900,000 tons for her navy, and
1.5-million tons for her merchant marine, the
magazine says. In all, the 1939 needs were
5-million tons, of which Japan produced only
about a million tons. ... Although the Japanese
have piled up important reserves, this
authoritative magazine asserts that the Indies,
"Japan's natural vital space," would certainly
be one of the principal goals of Japanese
action, "despite the fact that the road to them
is defended by Singapore."

The New York Times, Saturday, November 29,
1941: The Japanese Army, which has
maintained a purchasing commission in offices
in the General Motors Building, Broadway and
57th Street, has not renewed its lease and will
vacate the offices Sunday, it was learned
Saturday. No information was available from
a girl telephone operator there, but at the
Consulate General at 630 Fifth Avenue it was
understood the office would not be reopened
elsewhere. ... Some 50 of the estimated 2,000
Japanese nationals [in New York] have applied
for passage on the Tatuta Maru, due to sail for
Tokyo from Los Angles on Dec. 14.

Singapore, United Press, The New York
Times, Saturday, November 29, 1941: Orders
recalling all troops to barracks were flashed on
screens of motion picture houses in Singapore
tonight. The orders were described as "normal
precautions." The Singapore radio said there
had been no change in the Far Eastern situation
but that military leaves had been canceled. ...
... Manila: The city of Cavite, clustered
around the United States Cavite naval base,
headquarters of the 16th Naval District, tonight
inaugurated a regular nightly blackout on the
recommendation of the United States Navy.

Hanoi, French Indo-China, Associated Press,
The New York Times, Saturday, November 29,
1941: Thai troops are deployed along the
borders of French Indo-China and British
Malaya. Advices from Bangkok said Thailand
was prepared for the worst. The Bangkok
radio repeated warnings that Thailand might
soon become a battle ground. ... The
atmosphere in the South Pacific became more
tense but Japan's next move was blanketed in
obscurity. Hainan Island, which is the main
Japanese manpower reservoir is only a few
hours distant by fast transport. ... Whatever
happens, Vice Admiral Jean Decoux, Governor
General of Indo-China, declared his colony's
role in the event of a new war in the Pacific
would be directed by the Vichy government.
... A military expert said: [Referring to troop
deployments] "you would say that war would
break out within a week or ten days."

Manila, Wireless to The New York Times, By
H. Ford Wilkins, Saturday, November 29,
1941: Should war strike the Philippines now it
would find the civilian population unprepared
and unprotected and thousands might be killed
for lack of air-raid shelters, President Manuel
Quezon told students of the University of the
Philippines in an address last night that was
broadcast to the nation. ... American
"imperialists," he asserted, tried to block his
defense plans so they could point to the
unprepared condition of the Philippines, when
war came, as an argument against
independence. [American critics were charging
that Quezon was more interested in setting up
a dictatorship rather than a democracy.]

Warm Springs, Georgia, Special to The New
York Times, By Frank L. Kluckhohn,
Saturday, November 29, 1941: Because of
tense Japanese-American relations President
Roosevelt announced tonight that he might
have to return to Washington tomorrow. The
announcement was prompted by a statement
attributed to Premier Tojo that Japan must take
steps to wipe out United States and British
"exploitation" in the Far East. ... Just before
the President left Washington yesterday an
authoritative statement indicated that the United
States Government was nearing the end of its
patience with Japan, that it would regard
further Japanese military moves as an attempt
to dominate the whole Pacific area, and that it
could not tolerate that.

Cairo, Egypt, Special Cable to The New York
Times, Saturday, November 29, 1941: The
latest news from the front in Libya indicates
that extremely heavy fighting is going on
southeast of Rezegh between British armored
forces and German tanks, armored cars, and
truck-borne troops. Neither side has yet given
or gained ground, a communique of the British
Middle East Command states. ... ... London,
Special Cable to The New York Times,
Nov. 29: Prime Minister Winston Churchill
will celebrate his 67th birthday tomorrow.

Tokyo, United Press, The New York Times,
Saturday, November 29, 1941: The Japanese
Premier, General Hideki Tojo, declared the
American and British "exploitation" of Asiatic
peoples must be "purged with a vengeance,"
and the press warned of the growing danger of
an armed clash if the United States attempts to
patrol the Burma Road supply route to China.
... General Tojo's statement, on the anniversary
of the declaration of Japan, Manchukuo, and
Nanking for "a new order in East Asia," said:
"Chiang Kai-shek is dancing to the tune of
American and British communism because
the United States and Britain desire to fish in
troubled waters, throwing the Asiatic peoples
against each other. This is the stock in trade
of Britain and the United States and therefore
we must purge this sort of action with
vengeance." ... "There are many countries
engaged in actions hostile toward our
co-prosperity sphere and they are trying to
throw obstacles in our path and exploit
Asia at the expense of the Asiatic peoples
and thereby satisfy their greed for
possessions." ... Gen. Tojo reiterated Japan's
determination to coordinate an Asiatic front "so
that a chorus of victory may go up in the camp
of justice as speedily as possible." ... "Nothing
can be permitted to interfere with this sphere,"
the Premier said, "because this sphere was
decreed by Providence." ... Following reports
from Washington that any Japanese move
against Thailand would be countered by
increased American aid to China and that the
U.S. might convoy Lease-Lend material over
the Burma Road, Domei, the Japanese news
agency, said that yesterday afternoon
formations of Japanese planes "effectively
bombed" military objectives around Kunming
on the Burma Road. One bomber was
reported to have strafed trucks laden with
supplies on the road south of Kunming as well
as depots near the city. ... ... Berne,
Switzerland, By Telephone to The New
York Times, Sunday, November 30, 1941:
[Late Saturday., U.S. time] The recapture
of Rostov and the routing of Col. Gen. Paul
Ludwig von Kleist's forces, which had been
holding the city for almost seven days, were
reported in the Russian High Command
communiques last night. ... This sudden
reversal of the respective positions on the
southern front in Russia comes as the
culmination of a hazardous operation carried
out by Marshal Semyon Timoshenko, the
Russian commander on that front. ...
According to the Soviet Communique, one
Russian force crossed the Don River and
entered the southern suburbs of Rostov on
Friday. These troops, led by General
Lemidoff, advanced in the face of a heavy
German barrage and street fighting ensued.
German resistance was strong and the
Russians made little progress at first. ...
German losses in the Rostov fighting were
said to amount to at least 5,000 killed. Great
quantities of materiel were seized by the
Russians, the bulletin added. ... On the
Moscow front there were no appreciable gains
by the Germans. A Russian spokesman
announced this morning that increasingly
heavy Russian counter-attacks had
considerably improved the situation. ... On the
Tula salient, where on Friday the Germans
broke through and occupied Skopin, General
Koneff has delayed a German drive toward
one of the roads to Ryazan. German efforts to
outflank General Koneff's forces are
continuing. ... ... Cairo, Egypt, United
Press, The New York Times, Sat., Nov. 29,
1941: Diplomatic sources said tonight that a
Jewish agency was negotiating with the Soviet
Government for the release to Palestine of
10,000 Zionists exiled in Siberia. About half
the Zionists are from Soviet-occupied Poland
and the remainder have been exiled since the
beginning of the revolution. ... ... Rome, By
Telephone to The New York Times, Nov. 29,
1941: A strong attack against the tendency of
"some European countries" to allow
euthanasia, or the scientific killing of incurable
people, is printed in today's Vatican
newspaper, the Osservatore Romano. ...
"Deplorable concepts of barbaric epochs
condemned by common sense," the
newspaper says, "are attempting to establish
themselves." ... To bring home the point the
Osservatore Romano condemns the German
film "Ich Klage An" (I Accuse), shown last
summer at the Venice Film Festival, which
makes an apology for euthanasia. It calls the
picture "a true invitation to homicide."

[Stay tuned for late breaking war bulletins.
... Globalization41.]