eathr , (2) Two blasts in succession were heard about 7 or 8 minutes after the light had been seen, The crew is reported to have become apprehensive and began at that time to haul in their fishing lines, an operation which continued until 1030 hours, at. which time the vessel headed north "to get out of the area. (3) At about 0700 on March 1, ashes began to fall, turn- ing the deck white, The position of the vessel at this time is given at 11° 56-3/4! north and 166° 42-1/2' east, The ashes kept falling until noon at which time the position’ of the ves-_ sel was estimated at 12° 14! north and 166° 53! east. (4) At O440 hours on March 2, the vessel shifted its course toward its home port of Yaizu, where it arrived at £600 on March 14, | . (5) In ‘the following two or three days, all the erew re- eo ported slight headaches and some of them were nauseous, In 7 or 8 days, evidence of burns on exposed parts of the body began to appear. In response to certain questions which the Ambassador asked the Foreign Service, the following information was received. It sheds some light on the sequence of events during the 2 days following the return of the Fukuryu Maru to Yaizu, but before the mishap had come to the attention of the Embassy. (1) The crew first contacted the ship's owner, arid the . director of the Fisherman's Union, On the day of their return crew members who were seriously affected consulted a physician of the Kyoritsu Hospital. (2) Two of the fishermen, Yamamoto and Masuda, who were in more serious condition left the Kyoritsu on March 15 for @Mokyo where they visited Doctor Shimizu at the Tokyo University Hospital, - (3) Professor Shiokawa made radiation measurements of tne ship on March 16 and on the basis of his findings all of the. crew members consulted a physician who recommended that the men %2 hospitalized, TIE ROLE OF THE JAPANESE SCIENTISTS During the latter half of March the Japanese press was fed continually with sensational statements from Japanese Scientists, The motivations of the Japanese were never quite understood by us but the following factors may be enumerated as pertinent to our lack of progress in dealing with thems (1) In a long private conversation that I had with Dr. Tsuzuki at his home on the evening of March 24, he’ was frank in stating his épprehension that the American sefentists ywould deny him and his associates professional recognition due them for their accomplishments in the diagnosis and treatment of the fishermen. He referred frequently to his experience in 1945 when he - -2-