INTENSIFICATION OF JAPANESE EFFORTS TO PROCUBE A MILITARY ALLIANCE So strong was the demand for conclusion of a mill ta: alliance between Japan, Germany and Italy that a joint confere. of the Japanese Army, Navy and Foreign Office officials was hel on 12 July 1940 for the purpose of intensifying efforts to procu such a pact. At this conference the Foreign Ministry reported tc representatives of the Army and Navy the result of Ambassador SATO1s conference with Ribbentrop, from which it appeared that it was necessary to draw and present to Ribbentrop a more concrete and "further penetrated draft." There was then presented to the conference for their discussion and consideration a draft of a proposed agreement between Japan and Germany, in which it was stated: "The object is to facilitate, vis-a-vis the present international upheaval, the attainment of our Imperial aim by quickly embodying an intimate cooperative relation between our Empire which is striving to establish a nevf order in East Asia including the South Seas, and Germany and Italy which are fighting for a new order in Europe, and to strengthen our future interna¬tional position in the face of the world situation after the European War." In the discussion which follov/ed, it was contemp¬lated according to the provisions of the draft that Germany should recognize that French Indo-China? Dutch East Indies and other South Sea Islands be included within Japan's sphere; that Germany should support JapanT s political leadership and give adequate political support to Japan in order to settle the Chinese con- flict; and that Germany should give favorable consideration to Japan's trade opportunities in Europe and Africa. It was also