18 FEB. 1946 Date and Time: 18 February 1946, 1345-1615 hours Place: Sugamo Prison, Tokyo, Japan Present: General Hiroshi OSHIMA G. Osmond Hyde, Interrogator Lt. Comdr. F.B. Huggins, U.S.N.R., Interpreter Miss Lucille G. Brunner, Stenographer. Questions by: Mr. Hyde. OATH OF INTERPRETER Mr. Hyde: “Lt. Comdr. Huggins, the Interpreter, having been duly sworn on previous interrogations of General OSHIMA, now continues to interpret from English to Japanese and from Japanese into English, as required in this proceeding. A. In regard to my statement about meeting Ribbentrop, which you (the Interpreter) translated as five or six times, I feel that as this might not be absolutely accurate, and that it might be a few times more than five or six, the record should be amended in this regard. Q. The other day I asked you this question: “So that, General, it would appear, would it not, that the Axis Pact of May 1939, in fact, grew out of the conversations that in the beginning contemplated the Tripartite Pact?” During the course of your reply to that question, which is a lengthy reply, you said, among other things, the following: “In this connection I feel that they may have thought that the Three Power Pact negotiations were a hindrance to signing the other pact, for I recall speaking to Ribbentrop and saying that it seemed rather inopportune for them to sign a separate pact with Italy when we were still in the stage of negotiations on the other.” Will you tell us when and where this conversation with Ribbentrop took place and the circumstances under which it occurred? A. My meeting with Ribbentrop was following his return from Italy in May 1939. Prior to this he had not spoken either to SHIRATORI 1 or me in regard to any such treaty as was consummated between Germany and Italy. Naturally, after the treaty was drawn up it became necessary for Ribbentrop to tell me about it, and, therefore, he asked me to come and see him - which I did. At this meeting he stated that, (1) this treaty had been drawn up on the repeated urging of Italy, and (2) that it had nothing whatsoever to do with the negotiations then being carried on in regard to the contemplated Tripartite Alliance. Also, while this is not particularly important, he told me that it was first decided 1 SHIRATORI was Ambassador to Italy 1938-1940. 95