Japanese-U. S. relations deteriorated after September 1940 when Japan joined the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy, and Tokyo and Washington had few official options to improve their relations. This encouraged two private individuals, Hashimoto Tetsuma and Ikawa Tadao, to act as diplomats in breaking the diplomatic deadlock.
Being head of Shiunso, a right-wing ideological group, Hashimoto had extensive contacts with political and business circles and even U. S. Ambassador Joseph Grew. With Grew's letter of introduction, he secretly went to Washington in December 1940. At the State Department he pronounced his own personal concerns about Japan's pro-German stand and the need for closer Japan-U. S. relations. Neither Maxwell M. Hamilton, Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs, nor Stanley K. Hornbeck, Advisor on Political Relations, with both of whom Hashimoto privately met, accepted his line of reasoning.
Ikawa was a former official of the Ministry of Finance. In November 1940, when, after his retirement, he was on the board of directors of the Central Bank of Cooperative Society, he accidentally got to know two visiting American emissaries, Bishop James Walsh and Father James Drought, whom he introduced to Matsuoka Yosuke, Foreign Minister, and Muto Akira, Chief of the Military Affairs Bureau, the Ministry of the Army. Through this experience he became enthusiastic about his possible mission. He secretly visited the United States in February 1941 and worked closely with Colonel Iwakuro Hideo, who also secretly came to Washington as Ambassador Nomura's assistant. The two succeeded in producing the Draft Understanding on the terms for avoiding imminent conflicts, the work which led to the formal meeting between the Japanese ambassador and Secretary of State Hull.
Unlike Hashimoto, Ikawa was successful as a diplomat, because of his personal ties with American emissaries and Iwakuro and because of the confidence of Frank Walker, the Postmaster General, and Ambassador Nomura. Yet, in August 1941 when he returned to Tokyo, he saw no room for his activities since the binational negotiations were being handled solely by the authorities. Just as Hashimoto was arrested after his return home for his pro-American behavior, so Ikawa too found himself being watched by the authorities.
The two persons were simply utilized by the government and were foresaken when their roles were over. Inherent here is the tragic fate of private citizens trying to act as diplomats.
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