GENERAL HEAD QUARTERS SUPREME COMMANDER FOR THE ALLIED POWERS INTERNATIONAL PROSECUTION SECTION 17 April 1947 MEMORANDUM TO: Mr. Tavenner D. N. Sutton On 1 April 1947 the following assignment was given to Lt. Steiner: "ARITA made a radio speech on 29 June 1940. OTT claimed that the speech had been altered. There were certain newspaper reports of the speech which also may have been different from the speech actu¬ally given. The attached papers relate to this matter. Please analyze them with a view to corroborating OTT's message about alterations." His report dated 11 April. 1947 and the papers delivered to him in connection with this assignment are returned herewith. It seems that OTT was correct in his statement that the speech which Foreign Minister ARITA had planned to make was changed and the radio add¬ress actually delivered by him on 29 June 1940 eliminated entirely all refer¬ences to the close relationship between Japan, Germany and Italy and the likelihood that they would advance hand-in-hand which were carried in the advance notice of the speech published on 27 June 1940. France had fallen and the Cabinet was obviously trying to move toward rapprochement with Germany and Italy. The Army did not want the Cabinet to get the benefit of the change in sentiment since it wanted to bring about the downfall of the Cabinet hoping to get a new one which would carry on the negotiations apparently broken, at the time of the German-Russian anti-aggression pact. It is an insidious move on. the part of the Army but excellent evi¬dence if we can keep it clear before the court. HATA will doubtless claim that he was following a middle-of-the-road policy and deny the intrigue which does not appear on the surface. D. N. SUTTON Assistant Counsel