Marching Orders: The Untold Story of How the American Breaking of the Japanese Secret Codes Led to the Defeat of Nazi Germany and Japan

by Bruce Lee

The most interesting part of the circular is the final section, which briefly surveys current Soviet relations with Japan. Shigemitsu says that Japanese Soviet relations “are based on the need for maintaining neutrality. It has generally been possible to maintain fairly harmonious relations. The signing of the Provisional Fishing Agreement last March was proof of the fact.” Tokyo notes that Russians are still refusing to give the Americans access to airfields in Siberia from which they can bomb Japan. This means “the cautious Russians will, at least for the moment, devote themselves to the war against Germany and … avoid getting involved in Far Eastern problems.”