Powell writes that Shimonaga visited him the previous day and offered to pay travelling expenses for about ten prominent scientists to go to Japan and discuss "... topics of international importance in a friendly and peaceful atmosphere."

"I had some difficulty in replying adequately to this invitation, because, in my opinion, it is not really of very great value to us at the present time. The important question is: What should these ten scientists talk about? We are not at a different stage from that of three or four years ago, when it really was useful to speak in terms of generalities, and issue public statements. I said, however, how grateful we were for his support, and I told him that there would be a number of scientific conferences in Japan in 1961, when assistance from him might be valuable in bringing people together."