15 August 1940 in a communication addressed to the Netherlands Government, Japan called attention to the fact that many nations were suffering from lack of resources and from over-population while in other nations vast undeveloped areas with abundant resources were to be found. "Such a situation," it was stated, "is really irrational, and unless it is rationalized and put right there will be international conflict and no cause ever to hope for peace between nations." The Japanese government charged the Netherlands government with the administration of the Dutch East Indies in the interest of the Dutch and other European countries and with ignoring the desire for the prosperity and welfare of the East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. This was followed by Japanese demands that the Netherlands government voluntarily open their resources to the world, allow free entrance of other nationals and abolish all restrictions imposed on business enter-prises and all other economic activities. 169 The trend of negotiations between the Japanese and Dutch governments reflected a constantly increasing tension as the result of Dutch refusal to satisfy Japanese demands. In this connection, Commerce Minister KORAYASHI, Japanese Envoy in Batavia, cabled to Foreign Minister MAiSUOKA on 13 September 1940 as follows: "When I hinted at the existence of discriminatory treatment toward Japan, he argued strongly that this had not been the fact in the past, and stated that in the future they would as before treat each country on a fair basis, and had no intention 169Exhibit 1311, TP 11,798.