Tokyo, July 23, 1957

No.31
TO : His Excellency
The President
FROM : Tai Ha Yiu
At my luncheon meeting with Tanaka and Yatsugi this afternoon, I told them of today's preliminary meeting with the administrative level of the Foreign Ministry and of the impression I received of Itagaki, the new Asian Affairs director. The two men had high praise for him stating that Itagaki was chosen after long deliberation as to his character and ability to deal with the Korean side.
Tanaka repeated what he said the other day that the Korean proposal could not be accepted as it is, not that the Japanese side will reject it as a whole, but that there should be concessions from both sides. I strongly reiterated that our plan was the final one and that I could not see anything in it which would make it difficult for Japan to accept. He asked that I bring to the President's attention the difficulty facing the Japanese government.
I took up Yatsugi's article which appeared this morning in the Sankei Jiji and complimented him on it. He stated that he had often advised Fujiyama to effect personnel changes in the Foreign Office. To this Tanaka remarked that the changes were being contemplated and Yatsugi should refrain from putting out such articles.
The Japs have not shown any indication they would accept our terms, but it is quite evident that they are anxious to settle the problems.