The Dispute with Japan
It may be supposed that the attention of the Japanese Government has been given to the methods of calm dis- cussion by which the Governments of the United States and Great Britain are handling the question of the examination Of mails on neutral ships and other questions of contraband control. But the task of Mr. Arita, the Japanese Foreign Minister, who appears to desire a friendly settlement of the Asama Maru ' dispute, has been made more difficult by the popular outcry fanned by the Press. It is maintained by Great Britain that the interception of the Asama Maru ' by a British warship, and the removal of 21 Germans on board, was abundantly justified by international law ; that the Germans taken were naval experts likely to be employed in fresh submarine activities ; and that the Japanese have again and again stopped British ships. The Japanese Government have resisted the "purely legalistic" argument on the ground that the seizure of a ship so near Japan's "front door" was an affront to her prestige ; but they are now also endeavouring to justify their position from a legal point of view. But the dispute should not be difficult to settle if Mr. Arita refrains from insisting on the return of the prisoners. The British Government can probably agree that there will be no recurrence of such incidents if Japanese shipping companies refuse passages to belligerent nationals.
