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I ? DECLARES "STATE OF WAR" SHANGHAI, China, May 10— For the first time since the "China incident" began, a Japanese spokesman declared today that a "state of war" exists between Nippon and China. This statement was made by a spokesman at a Shanghai press conference while defending the Japanese aerial bombardments of Chung-King, provisional capital of the Chiang Kai-Shek regime in China. "In bombing Chung-King," he declared, "Japan was within her rights as a belligerent." As a result of his statement observers in Shanghai were anxious to see whether the foreign office in Tokyo would make any further declaration regarding a "state of war." Should a foreign office declaration be made, it was believed, it might force Washington, London and other capitals to recognize the existence of a genuine war in China. In that event, observers believed, the United States government in Washington would be in a position to invoke the provisions of the neutrality act in connection with the Sino-Japanese conflict.
