6 March 1946 got your information. You had only then arrived from Tokyo. You had been back but one week when this meeting took place. Now, it is not unlikely that before you left Tokyo these matters were discussed with you and you, as Ambassador, told what to do. I want to know when you held those meetings, who gave you the instructions, and what the plans were. A. I have not heard about any such plans. Q. I will tell you something else you said on that occasion. You said also that for security reasons the war would have to be prepared not only against England, but also against America. You said that the occupation of Singapore would have to be coordinated with the operations in Europe. You also said that the attack would have to be made on land because of the difficulty on the seaside and that the occupation of Hong Kong and the Philippines had been provided for in case it should be required. 3 A. I have no recollection of having made such a statement. However, it is possible that I might have said something along those lines in order to match the tone of Ribbentrop’s conversation. It becomes important for me as Ambassador as long as such a thing as the Tripartite Pact exists to keep the Germans happy, and so I might have stated something of this sort. However, I can definitely say that I never heard of any such plans from either the Army or the Navy. Q. Did you hear them from anyone else? A. No. Q. Now, General, the document that I am reading from now is a copy of a telegram that was sent by Ribbentrop, among other places, to the German Embassy in Tokyo. Now, if there is anything in this document that is not right, you know and I know that your Ambassador in Tokyo would have been over at that Foreign Office immediately. I think you should give this serious thought and give us a full and complete answer. A. I am sure that the dispatch regarding this meeting was passed to Ott who, no doubt, took it to the Japanese Foreign Office. On my part I think that I also must have sent a dispatch to the Japanese Foreign Office about this meeting, and had I done so, I would have said that I had tried to match my talks with the Germans in order to please them. However, I can definitely say that I received no orders from the Japanese Government, nor did I hear anything about any plans from anyone. Q. It was not very long after this until MATSUOKA was over there and you have already told us that MATSUOKA stated that the plans with respect to Singapore were then in the course of being completed. Now, don’t tell us that you have heard nothing about these plans. It can’t be other than the opposite. You have admitted sitting down talking about it with Ribbentrop, MATSUOKA and Hitler. A. You may ask MATSUOKA also. I am sure that he knew nothing of any plans. The Japanese Army and Navy do not reveal their operational plans to anyone outside their staffs. Q. Let us go on with the matter and see. After what I have just indicated to you had been stated by you, Ribbentrop according to this document remarked to you that it would be better to put off the Philippines project and to execute only the surprise occupation of Singapore, and he said, by proper explanation of motives for the occupation, America would remain out of the war. Do you remember that? 3 They did take Singapore by land and this was unexpected by the British. 187