Memorandum from Joseph P. Walshe to Eamon de Valera (Dublin)
'Interview with the Japanese Consul General'

Mr. Beppu called to see me today, at his request.
He began by saying quite cheerfully that he found that Mr. Ichihashi was going to go to the meeting referred to in our last talk (27th May)¹ on the invitation of a friend of his whose birthday it was, and it was, of course, very difficult for him to cancel the arrangement.² However, he said, on account of my talk with him he had asked Ichihashi not to go and the appointment was cancelled.

Beppu then went on to say that it was a pity that we wanted to curb the movements of Ichihashi because he was going to attend this particular meeting.

This attitude made it clear to me that I had not been sufficiently explicit during our first talk, and I felt obliged to dot the i's and cross the t's. I said that we had received information which led us to believe that Ichihashi had either offered to subscribe, or actually had subscribed, to the funds of certain subversive groups and that he had helped a certain group to publish a subversive news-sheet. If that were true, Ichihashi's behaviour had been, to say the least, gravely incorrect.

Mr. Beppu became extremely perturbed at this point. He got as pale as a Japanese can, and he looked both astonished and very guilty. When he had recovered, he said 'But surely, Mr. Walshe, this is a terribly serious accusation?'

I said it certainly was a serious accusation, and perhaps it might be better, in order to clear up matters to his satisfaction, if the Security officials should interview Mr. Ichihashi for the purpose of asking him questions and informing him more fully of the indiscretions of which they considered him guilty. I was not pressing this matter, but Mr. Beppu might feel more satisfied about the gravity of the situation if such an interview took place. I would leave the matter entirely to him, and, if he decided in favour of the interview, he could ring me up any day during the next fortnight and the interview could take place any time he desired here in the Department of External Affairs.

The suggestion convinced Mr. Beppu that we were very sure of our ground. He changed at once, became full of smiles and explained that, of course, when certain people came to them and were enemies of their enemies, they felt they had to be kind to them, and anything that may have been done by Ichihashi was certainly not intended in the remotest way to injure the interests of Ireland. He would remember my suggestion about seeing the Security officials, but he felt already that there would be no need to do so as he now knew where the mistakes had been made. He would immediately warn Ichihashi to be extremely careful.

I said it was not a question of being very careful. Ichihashi had to refrain completely from having any contact of any kind with subversive individuals or organisations in this country. He must bear in mind how difficult it was for foreigners to understand the intricacy of our internal situation. It could happen, for instance, that individuals who were ready to intrigue against Great Britain might at the same time be intriguing against the Irish Government. He should also remember that Ichihashi, as a member of the Japanese mission in Dublin, had no right whatsoever to engage in anti-British activities. That would constitute a definite violation of our neutrality.

Mr. Beppu, on leaving, expressed his gratitude to me for my helpful attitude in the matter. It was obvious he was feeling he had got off rather lightly.