British officials came somewhat closer to understanding Japanese diplomatic language because the alliance and long technical relationship had built more personal contact. American and French audiences had less shared context for Japanese illustrative phrasing. The later experience of Ambassador Masanao Hanihara, whose comments on American immigration legislation were read as a threat, demonstrates the danger. Translation skill mattered, but hostile listeners could also seize on ambiguity, allowing cultural and political suspicion to magnify disagreement.
Notable Point · 1:20:03-1:22:18
Japanese diplomacy and trans-Pacific miscommunication
Different diplomatic idioms turned Japanese attempts at explanation into apparent threats and deepened an already suspicious American relationship.