TOKYO, June 23, 1933 (UP) -- Japanese-American friendship, understanding and co-operation are of the utmost importance to peace, not only in the Far East but in the world, in the opinion of his imperial majesty, Hirohito, emperor of Japan.
This fact was forcefully impressed on me today when I was granted the first audience extended to an American newspaperman by any Japanese ruler.
There exists today no question capable of disturbing the good relations existing between Japan and the United States, in the opinion of Foreign Minister Count Yasuya Uchida, to whom I was referred for an outline of the government's attitude toward the present world situation.
On the contrary, according to the foreign minister, Japan and the United States are today bound more firmly than ever before by powerful commercial ties. These should be greatly strengthened in the immediate future, as American trade in Manchoukuo, already on the upgrade, continues to expand, and this expansion demonstrated that the creation of the Far East's newest republic will in no way menace the "open door" in the Far East.
My introduction to the emperor was made by the American ambassador, Joseph C. Grew, with whom I motored to the palace. The conversational exchange between the emperor and myself cannot be termed an interview, as the rules of the court prohibit direct quotation. This rule never has been waived. Furthermore, foreign policy is not primarily the interest of his majesty, but of the foreign minister.
However, it is permissible to state that the emperor did evidence a clear understanding of and a keen interest in the subject of Japanese-American friendship and good will, present and future. He declared the subject one on which his interest constantly was focused because of his belief that the maintenance of Japanese-American understanding and good will is bound to have a powerful and benign effect on the peace of the world.
The cordial earnestness of his manner and the simplicity and directness of his statements carried an inescapable ring of sincerity and conveyed very definitely the suggestion that the wave of a much more friendly feeling toward the United States, now evident throughout Japan, is also reflected in the imperial palace.
Our meeting occurred in the Phoenix Hall, formal audience chamber, which is a relatively small but gorgeously lacquered room, hung with tapestries but devoid of furniture, except for the emperor's chair of red lacquer, set between two ancient cloisonn
