Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy - Ludwig von Mises ...

Talk of Ultimatums and Deadlines 127
Judging from the cable traffi c we were reading, it was becoming
apparent that Japan was preparing for a defi nite break in relations
with the United States within a very short time. As we have
seen, the Japanese embassy in Washington had cabled Tokyo on
November 15 to ask advice “as to the disposition of the various
offi ces and our nationals residing here” in the event of such a
break. Th en on November 17 Tokyo responded in a cable that we
read on the 19th, asking the Japanese ambassador to advise the
several consuls in the United States secretly “to help our citizens
who remain behind to work for the common good” and also “to
destroy immediately . . . secret documents.” Tokyo would soon
wire “a plan for reducing the members of staff s.” 28
A break in relations was close!
28 Joint Committee, Pearl Harbor Attack, part 12, pp. 153–54.