Germany to consider a non-aggression pact with Russia. 102 Such a pact was concluded between Germany and the Soviet Union on 23 August 1939.103 Upon the conclusion of this pact, the Japanese Foreign Minister terminated negotiations for the Tri-Partite Pact and advised the German Ambassador that the conclusion of the German-Russian Non-Aggression Pact was in violation of the $ecret agreement attached to the Anti-Comintern Pact. 104 Ambassador OSHILA was directed to file a protest to Germany's action, but out of consideration for the Japanese-German rela¬tionship and collaboration which he had so energetically spon¬sored, he disobeyed his government's instructions by postponing delivery of the Japanese memorandum of protest until 18 September 1939 when the matter was handled in a surreptitious and unoffi¬cial manner. 105 This is the fifth instance in which Ambassador OSHIJIA refused to follow his government's directions. The Anti-Comintern Pact constituted a threat of Japanese-German military action against the Soviet Union and was designed to operate as a check against that country. The strengthening of this Pact with relation to the Soviet Union was one of the Japanese objectives in their negotiations for the proposed Tri-Partite Military Alliance. This objective was con¬sidered to have been seriously jeopardized by the non-aggression pact between Germany and Russia. Public opinion in Japan was so 102Exhibit 48?, TP 6,080. 103TP 6,122. 104Exhibit 486-L, TP 6,123. 105Exhibit 506, TP 6,124.