(4) International Convention relating to Economic Statistics with 6 (6) Agreement of Madrid of April 14, 1891, for the Prevention of (8) Convention on Safety of Life at Sea opened for signature at (9) Geneva conventions of August 12, 1949, for the protection of war victims. 10 11 3. It is equally the intention of the Japanese Government, within six months of the first coming into force of the Treaty of Peace, to apply for Japan's admission to participation in (a) the Convention on International Civil Aviation opened for signature at Chicago on December 7, 1944, and, as soon as Japan is itself a party to that Convention, to accept the International Air Services Transit Agreement also opened for signature at Chicago on December 7, 1944; 12 and (b) the Convention of the World Meteorological Organization opened for signature at Washington on October 11, 1947.1 9. JAPANESE DECLARATION REGARDING ALLIED GRAVES, CEMETERIES, AND MEMORIALS IN JAPANESE TERRITORY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1951 14 With respect to the Treaty of Peace signed this day, the Government of Japan makes the following Declaration: 1 Japan will recognize any Commission, Delegation or other Or League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 110, pp. 171 ff. 2 United Nations Treaty Series, vol. 20, pp. 229 ff. 3 6 League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 30, pp. 372 ff. British and Foreign State Papers, vol. 96, pp. 837-838. 5 Ibid., vol. 104, pp. 137 ff. League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 74, pp. 320–325. Ibid., vol. 192, pp. 10-15. Treaty Series 876; 49 Stat. 3000 ff. TIAS 2495; 3 UST, pt. 3, pp. 3450 ff. 10 Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949 for the Protection of War Victims (De partment of State publication 3938; 1950). TIAS 1591; 59 Stat., pt. 2, pp. 1516-1534. 12 Executive Agreement Series 487; 59 Stat., pt. 2, pp. 1693–1700. 13 TIAS 2052; 1 UST 281 ff. 14 TIAS 2490; 3 UST, pt. 3, p. 3320. ganization authorized by any of the Allied Powers to identify, list, maintain or regulate its war graves, cemeteries and memorials in Japanese territory; will facilitate the work of such Organizations; and will, in respect of the above-mentioned war graves, cemeteries and memorials, enter into negotiations for the conclusion of such agreements as may prove necessary with the Allied Power concerned, or with any Commission, Delegation or other Organization authorized by it. Japan trusts that the Allied Powers will enter into discussions with the Japanese Government with a view to arrangements being made for the maintenance of any Japanese war graves or cemeteries which may exist in the territories of the Allied Powers and which it is desired to preserve. 10. ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT AT SAN FRANCISCO, SEPTEMBER 4, 1951 1 I am glad to welcome you to this conference for signing the treaty of peace with Japan. The people of the United States are honored to serve as hosts for this meeting. Six years ago, the nations represented at this conference were engaged in a bitter and costly war. Nevertheless, these nations and others came together here, in this very hall, to set up the United Nations as the first essential step toward a firm and lasting peace. Today, we meet here again to take another step along the road to peace. On this occasion, it is our purpose to conclude a treaty of peace with a country we were fighting in 1945. We meet to restore our former enemy to the community of peaceful nations. The treaty we are gathered here to sign has not been drawn in a spirit of revenge. The treaty reflects the spirit in which we carried on the war. The principles for which we fought were clearly set forth by President Franklin D. Roosevelt right after Pearl Harbor. On December 9, 1941, in a broadcast to the American people, he said: "When we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. . . . We are now in the midst of a war, not for conquest, not for vengeance, but for a world in which this nation, and all that this nation represents, will be safe for our children." 2 That is our purpose here today as we gather to sign the peace treaty. We are trying to build a world in which the children of all nations can live together in peace. We hope we are attaining the ultimate good to which President Roosevelt referred. Unfortunately, today, the world is faced with new threats of aggression. Many of the countries represented here are now engaged in a hard fight to uphold the United Nations against international lawbreaking. But we have not forgotten that our goal is peace. We will not let the present conflict deter us from taking every step 1 Department of State Bulletin, Sept. 17, 1951, pp. 447–450. ? Ibid., Dec. 13, 1941, pp. 476–480. we can toward peace. We will not let that happen now, any more than we let the existence of war in 1945 hold up our efforts for the United Nations. The people of all our countries long for one thing above all else, and they are determined to have it. What they want is a world at peace a world where there is justice and freedom for all men and all nations. Our peoples demand of us that we take every possible measure to reach that goal. We who stand ready to sign this treaty with Japan believe in peace. We believe in peace based on freedom and international justice. We know that a free and independent people have more vigor and staying power and can do more to help secure the peace than a people held under alien control. We believe that the whole great effort for peace will be strengthened if Japan is now restored to independence and linked to other free nations by ties of mutual friendship and responsibility. OBJECTIVE OF OCCUPATION ACHIEVED Since the fighting ended in 1945, Japan has been an occupied country. The occupation was designed by the wartime Allies to prevent future Japanese aggression and to establish Japan as a peaceful and democratic country, prepared to return to the family of nations. The United States, as the principal occupying power, was given a special responsibility to carry out these objectives. It is our judgment that they have been achieved. I wish on this occasion to express the pride that my countrymen and I feel in the way in which the Allied occupation has been carried out. Its success has been due to the devoted efforts of many thousands of people serving under the outstanding leadership of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur and his successor General Matthew Ridgway. I would also like to pay tribute to the impressive effort put forward by the people of Japan in this period. They have fully complied with the surrender terms. They have cooperated fully in carrying out the purposes of the occupation. The result has been a remarkable and unprecedented period of progress in Japanese history. Japan, today, is a very different country from what it was six years ago. The old militarism has been swept away. This has been done not just by occupation edict but by the overwhelming will of the Japanese people themselves. The secret police and the police-state methods used by the former government have been abolished. 2 The new Japanese constitution provides a bill of rights for all citizens and establishes a government truly representative of the people. The Japanese people now have universal suffrage, and they This "special responsibility" of the United States with respect to the occupation of Japan by the Allied Powers was not formally recognized until the signature of the Report of the Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, at Moscow, Dec. 27, 1945, which established the Far Eastern Commission and the Allied Council for Japan. See A Decade of American Foreign Policy, pp. 60-63. See The Constitution of Japan, Effective May 3, 1947 (Department of State publication 2836; 1947). are taking a vigorous part in their government. In recent local elections, more than 90 percent of those eligible have voted. Japanese women now vote and take part in the government and enjoy full democratic rights for the first time. Free and independent labor unions have been established, and farm cooperatives have been greatly expanded. The monopolies that used to have such a stranglehold on the Japanese economy have been substantially broken up. Remarkable progress has been made in land reform. Over 5 million acres of land have been purchased from the old landlords and sold to working farmers. Today, about 90 percent of all cultivated land belongs to those who work on it, as compared with less than 50 percent in 1945. This is a great achievement, full of meaning for all Asia. Through these and other reforms, the Japanese people have been developing a stable economy and a democratic society. They still have a long way to go, but they are well on the road to building a new Japan-dedicated to the arts of peace and the well-being of the people. Because of these accomplishments, it is possible at this time to restore full sovereignty to the Japanese people. This does not mean that the slate has been wiped clean. The United States has not forgotten Pearl Harbor or Bataan, and many of the other nations represented here have similar memories that will not easily be erased. The new Japan will not find the world entirely friendly and trusting. It will have to keep on working to win the friendship and trust of other peoples over the years to come. But the foundations for a peaceful future have been laid. It is now time to move ahead with the restoration of normal relations between Japan and the rest of the world. TREATY CONSTRUCTED BY COOPERATIVE EFFORT This conference is the result of a year of cooperative effort toward that end. A year ago this month, at my request, Mr. John Foster Dulles began to consult other governments about a treaty of peace with Japan. Mr. Dulles has performed this task faithfully and well, guided by the highest traditions of statesmanship. There were, of course, differences of opinion among the nations concerned as to many of the matters covered by this treaty. The text of the treaty now before us is the product of long and patient negotiations, among many nations, which were undertaken to reconcile these differences. I think it is fair to say that it is a good treaty. It takes account of the principal desires and ultimate interests of all the participants. It is fair to both victor and vanquished. But more than that, it is a treaty that will work. It does not contain the seeds of another war. It is a treaty of reconciliation, which looks to the future, not the past. The treaty reestablishes Japan as a sovereign, independent nation. It provides for the restoration of Japanese trade with other nations, and it imposes no restrictions upon Japan's access to raw materials. 1 See President Truman's statement of Jan. 11, 1951, and Secretary Acheson's statement of Jan. 17, 1951; Department of State Bulletin, Jan. 29, 1951, p. 185. The treaty recognizes the principle that Japan should make reparations to the countries which suffered from its aggression. But it does not saddle the Japanese people with a hopeless burden of reparations which would crush their economy in the years to come. In all these respects, the treaty takes account of the peaceful advances the Japanese people have made in recent years, and seeks to establish the conditions for further progress. However, there is one thing we must all recognize. There can be no progress unless the Japanese people and their neighbors in the Pacific are made secure against the threat of aggression. At the present time, the Pacific area is gravely affected by outright aggression and by the threat of further armed attack. One of our primary concerns in making peace with Japan, therefore, is to make Japan secure against aggression and to provide that Japan, in its turn, will so conduct itself as not to endanger the security of other nations. To accomplish this, it is important to bring Japan under the principles of the United Nations and within the protection of the mutual obligations of United Nations members. The treaty expresses Japan's intention to apply for membership in the United Nations. The other countries who sign the treaty can be counted on to work for the admission of Japan to membership. But even so, there may be delays before Japan can be admitted. Under the treaty, therefore, the Japanese people bind themselves to accept immediately the basic obligations of a United Nations member-namely, to refrain from aggression, to settle disputes peacefully, and to support the efforts of the United Nations to maintain the peace. At the same time, the other nations who sign the treaty specifically recognize that Japan is entitled to the protection of the United Nations Charter. In a sense, these provisions are the heart of this treaty. Under them, Japan becomes part of the community of nations pledged to outlaw aggression and to support a world order based on justice. This tying together of the Japanese peace treaty and the United Nations Charter is a long step toward building security in the Pacific. But more than this is needed. WORLD PEACE DEPENDS ON SECURITY AGREEMENTS In the present world situation, it has been necessary to buttress the peaceful principles of the United Nations Charter with regional arrangements for the common defense against aggression. If real security is to be attained in the Pacific, the free nations in that area. must find means to work together for the common defense. The United States recognizes this fact. Our people have suffered from past aggression in the Pacific and are determined that this country shall do its part for peace there. In recent days, we have joined with other Pacific nations in important mutual security agree ments. Last Thursday, the Philippines and the United States signed a treaty of mutual defense.1 Under this treaty, each country recognizes that an armed attack on the other in the Pacific area would be 1 Treaty of Aug. 30, 1951; infra, pp. 873-875. |