Article III "Japan, Germany and Italy shall, even after the termination of the war in their victory, cooperate most closely for the purpose of realizing a righteous new order in the meaning of the Tripartite Pact which they concluded on September 27, 1940• Article IV "The present Agreement shall come into effect on the date of its signature and shall remain in force as long as the Tripartite Pact of September 27, 1940 is in force. The High Contracting Parties shall, at an appropriate time before the expiration of the said period of validity, reach an understanding concerning the manner of subsequent cooperation provided in Article III of the present Agreement." (8) On 14 December 1941, Chancellor HITLER gave a reception in honor of Ambassador OSHIMA, at which OSHIKA was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the German Eagle in gold. At this reception HITLER acknowledged OSHIMA1 s services in the achievement of German-Japanese cooperation which had culminated in a close brotherhood of arms. Chancellor HITLER commented that Japan had used the right method in declaring war, one that Japan had pursued formerly and which corresponded to his own system, that is,- to negotiate as long as possible, and when it is apparent that an agreement cannot be reached, strike as hard as possible and not waste time declaring war. HITLER declared that he would continue to proceed in this manner in the future. In the dis¬cussion that followed, Ambassador OSHIMA explained the progress of the war in the Pacific and stated that after the capture of Singapore, Japan must turn toward India, and that it was important for Germany to synchronize its attack against India from the west as Japan attacked from the east.