20 Feb. 1946 Q. I am not clear on what you mean by that last - you say because in Japan no one can talk about military tactics without the permission of the Emperor, you are certain that you did not have such discussions. Now, you either know that you did or did not, and I don’t see where the permission of the Emperor has anything to do with it. A. I mean that I cannot discuss on my own the fact that Japan had certain specific plans or did not have them. That is to say, I can make a comment on my own, but it is not up to me to go into details officially or to commit the Japanese Military to any course of action, as I do not know in the first place what the Military intended to do and in the second place it was not my right as I did not possess the Supreme Prerogative. Q. This interrogation certainly has not been confined to matters that you did officially. It is my observation that you accomplished much that you have indicated to us was being done in an unofficial capacity. Now, in the light of what you said as the reasons for your inability to discuss these matters officially with the Germans, I want to know what you said to them on these occasions unofficially. A. In so far as Singapore is concerned, this is as far as I went in my discussions. Some minor points will come up later, but it is my belief that Germany was more interested later in having us attack Russia than anything else. Q. Tell us the circumstances under which you had this talk with Ribbentrop in March 1941 when he discussed the subject of Japan launching a sudden attack upon Singapore. A. It was at Fuschl, I believe. Q. What was the occasion of the talk - how did it come about? A. I am not certain and I cannot state definitely on what occasion it was, but I believe it was either when I went to present my credentials or at the time when Bulgaria entered into the Tripartite Alliance. Q. This was sometime after you had arrived in Germany the second time as Ambassador? You arrived there, you told us yesterday, on the 16th day of February 1941. Now, this meeting, you said took place in March so it seems to me unlikely that it was the occasion of the presentation of your credentials. A. It always takes quite a time in Germany before presentation of credentials. Q. But you had had conferences with Ribbentrop before this date? A. Yes. Q. What date did MATSUOKA arrive in Germany? A. Around the beginning of April, as I said before. Q. Are you sure that it was not the latter part of March? A. I am pretty sure that it was April. Sometime around the end of March Yugoslavia entered the Alliance and I am fairly certain that it was after this that MATSUOKA arrived. Q. Now, was not this meeting actually a meeting between you and Ribbentrop with respect to arranging plans relative to the coming visit of MATSUOKA? A. No, I do not believe so. Q. You are not absolutely sure about that, are you? 119