ABSTRACT
In many substantial respects the relations of the United States with Japan differed from those with Germany and Italy in 1941. The conversations or negotiations with Japan which were highly critical in nature fell into three stages: from July 24 to the Atlantic Conference; from the Atlantic Conference to the end of October; and after November. During the first six months of 1941, according to official statements, relations with Japan, while far from promising, were conducted by President Roosevelt with a view to preventing war in the Pacific. At his conference with congressional leaders on August 18, the President referred to the possibility of "shooting" troubles in the Far East, but he told them that no "new commitments" had been made at the Atlantic Conference. During the period immediately following the Atlantic Conference, newspaper dispatches, dated at various points in the world, asserted that negotiations with Japan were proceeding feverishly, with the United States pressing for some kind of culmination.
