The fourth chapter examines Hirota’s first term as foreign minister from 1933 to 1936 with a particular emphasis on his policy goals for China and why those goals failed to come to fruition. Becoming foreign minister in the wake of the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo and Japan’s departure from the League of Nations, he initially sought to repair Japan’s damaged relationship with the international community, speaking of international goodwill and “harmony diplomacy.” But while he envisioned forming a “partnership” with China’s pro-Japanese faction, he paradoxically focused on the development of Manchukuo. What progress he did make with China was sabotaged by the Japanese army’s efforts to remove northern China from the Nationalist government’s control, however. And when confronted with pushback from the army, he consistently compromised. This can be seen in his announced “Three Principles” for China policy which, issued with military approval, consisted entirely of demands of China. He increasingly moved away from the pursuit of cooperation with China in favor of a Japan-led new order in East Asia. The chapter also discusses the Amō Statement, a 1934 statement demanding the withdrawal of Western influence from China, in depth, examining what that statement’s formulation reveals about the internal workings of the contemporary Japanese foreign ministry.