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The Prime Minister of New Zealand to the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs¹

Your telegram of 1 October.

The New Zealand Government wish to express their satisfaction that arrangements have been concluded for the formation of a British Commonwealth Force for service in Japan under Australian command. They trust that immediate steps will be taken to conclude discussions with the United States authorities and that a public statement will be issued at the earliest possible date.

2. So far as the control organisation is concerned, the New Zealand Government are prepared to accept the procedure proposed in paragraph 6 of the Commonwealth telegram to you of 21 September,² subject of course to any modification as may be agreed upon in the light of your telegram under reference.

3. The New Zealand Government would wish, in view of their contribution to the occupation forces, to arrange that representatives of the New Zealand Chiefs of Staff are associated with the organisation it is suggested might be known as the ‘Chiefs of Staff in Australia’. They hope that this will prove acceptable to both the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Governments. It is at present proposed that there would be two representatives of the Chiefs of Staff, one from the Army and the other from the Air Force. These would represent the views of the New Zealand Chiefs of Staff and function as an integral part of the planning and controlling organisation on the Service level for the occupation force.