IOR/R/15/2/539

The file contains notes, memoranda, and correspondence relating to the visits and treatment of Japanese and Italian subjects and agents in the Persian Gulf. The correspondence is mostly between the Political Agency at Bahrain, the Political Residency at Bushire, the British Ministry at Jeddah, the India Office in London, the Home and Foreign Departments of the Government of India, and representatives of Imperial Airways Limited in Sharjah.

The file covers the following matters:

• The visit of Mr Ohba, agent of the Japanese company Mitsui Bussan Kaisha, to Bahrain in February 1939, his attempts to secure a local shipping agent, and his subsequent visit to Sharjah;
• A tour of Saudi Arabia made by the Japanese Minister at Cairo in March 1939, and his request that two members of his staff also visit Kuwait and Bahrain, which was subsequently refused by the British Government;
• The movements of Kawamura (alias Muto), a Japanese Muslim convert engaged in anti-British activities in China;
• The treatment to be accorded to Italian and Japanese subjects in India and the Persian Gulf at the start of the Second World War, when both countries still declared to be neutral.

The file contains (folios 24-25) a report from the Ministry at Jeddah on the Japanese Minister's visit to Saudi Arabia and includes details on agreements and proposals made between both countries relating to commerce, communism, and oil.

At the back (folios 39-42) are internal office notes.