Conversation with Members of the Japanese Diet
(October 15, 1955)

Source: FBIS, Daily Report (Oct. 21, 1955), HHH7-8.

We have no Chinese text of this conversation. The FBIS transcript, here reproduced in
part as it appeared in the original, represents a release in the Asahi Evening News (in
English, Oct, 21, 1955) of the report of Yasushi Okubo, correspondent for Asahi shim:
bun. Parts of this report (all but the first paragraph here) were based on notes released
by Tokio Nakamura, delegate of the Japanese Socialist Party, who was present at the
conversation with Mao. It is worth noting that this transcript contains terms and
names that, in our opinion, are alien to Mao’s usage (e.g., \’Formoxa’’ for Taiwan).
We are unable to discover whether these problems of substitution occurred in Mr.
Nakamura’s notes or wt the release issued by Mr. Okubo, We have not changed anything in this transcript, in spite of the fact that it contains some grammatical and
orthographic errors. The annotations (not those in the text, bui these appearing as
notes at the end) are very. A joint statement on Sino-Japanese relations was issued by
the Chinese government and the visiting delegation of members of the Japanese diet on
October 17, 1955, The chief Chinese signatory was Peng Zhen, in the capacity of gen
eral secretary of the Standing Committee of the NPC.

‘Communism arose from war — the Soviet Union after World War One, and
many other Communist nations after World War Two. If world war three
should start, at least 80 percent of the world will become communized. If you
want, I'll make a wager on that. So, there is no reason for us to be fearful of
war, Moreover, we haye no colonies. We have nothing to lose.”

“Conditions have changed in Japan, | did not like Japan before because there
Were militarists, but now I like Japan because there are no more militarists. |
sympathize with Japan because she is being ill-treated by other countries, Our
ideologies and social systems differ, but I believe that this is no obstacle to
mutual respect and friendly relations between Red China and Japan, y
past is past, and the question is the future.
“Everyone has good and bad points. We have many bad points, and t hers
need for us lo Jearn many things from Japan. Japan is an i
China is still an agricultural nation, but | would like to say that Red C
exerting efforts to become an industrialized agricultural nation, Japan is °
advanced than my country in industry, economy, and culture, and thers a
need for the Chinese People’s Republic to learn many things from Jay
“T would like to go to Japan sometime in the future. It would not b
purpose of creating rouble. | want to go sightseeing in Japan
Japan of the friendship of the Chinese people. | woul tk ogo othe
States too, but there is no possibility for the time being. 1 wonder if
the United States won't invite '
“Japan profited from its disaster (war defeat~ASAHI), Japan is in a pa
of leadership; that is, she is in a position to criticize the United States, F
the Netherlands, Britain and Portugal (for their colonial policies AS
The day will come when both the United States and Japan will ré
China, even if it is one hundred and one years from now. It will take His fe
the hand of the oppressor (the United States~ASAHI) to be removed: ron
Japan, South Korea, Formosa, and the Philippines. We understand you wel
The day will come when the Foreign Office,” which recognizes the Govern
ment of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, will be criticized, The day wi
surely come when we will chase the United States out of Formosa,
‘Japan believes that Red China is an independent nation, but we ar
completely independent. Japan is also semi-independent. This is # co
point. The hand of the United States is long and extends over Form
Philippines and South Korea, but this will not continue for long, Asia
be controlled by Asians, not by occidentals.”

Notes

--- Notes

|. See text Oct. 1960), note 4. ' +

2. Mao was, of course, referring here to the foreign ministry of the Japanese Government: