Press translations [Japan]. Economic Series 0045, 1945-12-04.

Full Translation:

The reform of the farm land system has been practiced by TOMIOKA-mura in IWATA-Gun of SHIZUOKA-Ken, since 1943. This precedes by two year the submission of the Farm Land Reform Bill to the present Extraordinary Session of the Diet. The results realized thus far have proved satisfactory. The village in question has 400 farm houses. Its paddy fields cover an area of 220 chobu, and its dry farm land covers an area of 330 chobu. Until several years ago, about 50 chobu of paddy fields and dry land was owned by landlords. In 1943 Mr. SUZUKI, Shoichi, largest landlord in the village, conceived a plan to sell all cultivated land owned by landlords to the real tillers of the soil and to make them independent farmers with an average acreage of 1.5 chobu. He himself took the initiative in the execution of the plan and sold all of his land to his tenant farmers with the exception of three chobu which he kept for his own cultivation. He had persuaded other landlords of the village to follow his example with the result that on 29 April of the following year, eight chobu of land was sold to 20 tenant farmers by four landlords, at prices ranging from 450 yen to 700 yen per tan (.25 acres) on the condition that the land would be handed down to their children and not sold. If the land had to be sold, due to financial misfortune or other unavoidable circumstances, the disposal would not be made freely, but would be left to the agricultural association. In order to express their thanks to the landlords, the buying farmers were advised to present to them, as year-end gifts, one sho of rice per tan and a certain amount of vegetables.

A celebration of the success of the plan was held on the day of TENCHOSETSU, and both landlords and tenant farmers pledged themselves to carry out the plan faithfully. After the ceremony a small dinner party was held at the village office under the sponsorship of the tenant farmers. The landlords were guests. When Mr. SUZUKI first suggested his plan to the tenant farmers, they were skeptical. They thought the plan was too good to be true, and even resolved not to buy the land, but later they began to understand the real motive behind the plan and on this year's TENCHOSETSU, three more chobu of land was sold to ten tenant farmers. The village is more than ever determined to make permanent the 1.5 chobu independent farm system now that the Government has drafted the Farm Land Reform Bill. Mr. SUZUKI, expressed his opinion on the Bill as follows:

"Farmland has characteristics different from those of other types such as real estate and movable property. I am of opinion that farmland must be considered as being related to the family system rather than to private ownership. The farmers look upon their cultivated land as

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the treasure of their village as well as of their homes. They have a feeling for the land which may be compared to a conjugal love. The landlords, too, have their special feeling toward the land which they own as hereditary property. When I was active in the execution of my plan, I heard some landlords saying that they would not be willing to sell their land, even at 100,000 yen per tan. It is earnestly desired that the Government take into consideration these feelings of the farmers and landlords for their land when engaged in the execution of land reform policies. Law plus understanding will be the key to solving the problem. Farm villages have their rise and fall of fortune. When farmers desire to sell their land, the land will be controlled by a public organization, which will not allow them to dispose of it freely.

"The Government has defined a landlord as one owning more than five chobu of land, but I have considered him as one owning more than three chobu. Consideration should be given to landlords, because of the improvements they have made on land. Efforts must be made to let them stay in their villages. If landlords stay, it will be necessary for them to employ tenant farmers. It is possible that villages will still have tenant farmers, even though the land reform is carried out, because new financial conditions will eventually result in the return of independent farmers to their original status of tenant farmers. Of course, the independent farmers will form the mainstay of farm villages in the future, but it is natural that villages will have a small number of landlords and tenant farmers.

"The reason that I have fixed the standard area of 1.5 chobu for each independent farmer is that that area is fit for farming without having to hire labor. What has struck me most in connection with the two years of effort to put my plan into effect is that tenant farmers have increased their industriousness and that more satisfactory results are being realized in the production and distribution of rice than was possible before."

Full Translation:

The plenary session of the House of Peers met at 1000, 28 November and approved unanimously the formal answer to the Imperial Rescript drafted by Prince TOKUGAWA. Prince SHIMAZU was chosen President of the House of Peers. After President TOKUGAWA. went to the Imperial Palace to present the reply to the Imperial Rescript, SHIMAZU, chairman of the committee of the whole, took the chair. At 1000 Premier SHIDEHARA, taking the rostrum, delivered a speech outlining the general administrative policy, the contents of which are reported elsewhere. His speech was accompanied by the presentation of the Ordinance of the 20th year of Showa (1945), and the 54th Article concerning the order issued in compliance with the POTSDAM Declaration. After his speech NARAHASHI, Director of the Bureau of Legislation, made an explanation concerning the reason for introducing the bill; it was then entrusted in the hands of the committee. Next, MATSUMURA, Kanichiro, taking the rostrum, entered into the interpellations as follows:

• 1.Prevalence of the black market is due to the decrease of the ration of rice from 2.3 go to 2.1 go. Therefore, a return to the 2.3 - 2 -

•   ECONOMIC SERIES: 45 (Continued) ITEM 2 (Continued) go ration must be made; 2. Farming implements and necessary materials must be secured and distributed; 3. The policy of securing and distributing fertilizer must be established, as well as the project concerning the disposal of excrement in the cities; 4. There should be a plan concerning the utilization of cattle and machinery on farms and also the utilization of Government revenue raised by the horse race tax; and 5. Suppose the Government buys the JIKAHOYUMAI (rice preserved for family use) in the villages at a special price, now, and sells it to the farmers at a cheaper rate after foreign rice is imported?

Premier SHIDEHARA replied that the Government has no intention of establishing the combined administrative function of foodstuffs. Agricultural Minister MATSUMURA added, "1. Under present conditions, a 2.3 go ration of staple foodstuffs is impracticable. I intend to restore the ration to 2.3 go as soon as the amount of importation of foreign rice is decided and the future prospect is favorable. But in order to realize that, the cooperation of the people, such as in the increase of crop production and the regulation of consumption, is of prime importance; 2. We wish to do our best to increase the production of fertilizer. At the time of the termination of the war there was hardly any fertilizer but since then, more and more has been produced. We are planning to secure the production of 740,000 or 750,000 tons next year and 2,000,000 tons the year after that; 3. We want to increase production of crops by utilizing cattle, but it is rather difficult on account of the shortage of feeding materials. 4. The plan of resuming horse races is under consideration and will probably materialize at the earliest opportunity. The horse race law is being studied and the bill concerning it will be introduced at the next session; and 5. Details concerning the food problem will be made public."

Following these statements, TOKUGAWA, President of the House of Peers, made a report concerning his visit to the Imperial Palace at 1100 and presented the reply to the Imperial Rescript. He said that he received gracious words from the Emperor again. Upon this the whole House stood up and the Imperial Rescript was read. MATSUMURA then remarked that it seems that a 2.3 go ration is going to be put into practice after the importation of foreign rice, and the future prospect is encouraging with the completion of various preparations. However, demand for the distribution of 2.3 go of rice immediately was made because it is an absolutely necessary amount for human well-being. Therefore, it was hoped that an effort will be made to encourage the people to co-operate and produce as much as possible. Minister MATSUMURA replied, "We hope to do our best to encourage production and meet your expectations." With this final comment the session adjourned.

Full Translation:

According to a United Press special correspondent in TOKYO, the UNITED STATES Army supplied JAPAN with 3,500 metric tons of wheat and some petroleum for transportation and the fishing industry, for which JAPAN will pay in commodities. According to a spokesman from MacARTHUR's Headquarters, the gold, silver and platinum captured by the UNITED STATES Army will be restored to JAPAN to pay for the

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expense of maintaining the UNITED STATES Army in JAPAN.

Full Translation:

The amount of vegetables shipped from SAITAMA-ken decreased during the period from April to October of this year far below that of the same period last year. SAITAMA-ken was scheduled to ship 10,000,000-odd kan (one kan equals 3.75 kilograms) of the 51,307,000, which is the amount required to be carried out to other prefectures. But various conditions prevented the schedule from being carried out and so the total amounted to 2,266,000 kan. This decreased shipping did not help meet TOKYO'S demands nor the amounts necessary for the prefecture. The plan failed miserably.

Vegetables totaling 578,000 yen during April were transported to TOKYO. Several million kan, which had been expected for May, amounted actually to 638,000 kan. It is needless to report that 10,000 and 57,000 kan of vegetables were shipped during the months of September and October, respectively.

In this regard, SAPTAMA-ken has offered a plan for shipping vegetables to TOKYO without difficulty. There was an agreement to establish a supply and demand committee, which would make production, shipping and distribution of vegetables more simple. The committee expects assistance in handling the distribution from the SAITAMA-ken Fruit and Vegetable Distribution Control Association. Forty representatives from civilian organizations will be selected to form a committee. This committee expects to restudy this problem with the aid of experts.

Full Translation:

A total of some 150,000 cases of plate glass will be manufactured within the year, as it has now become possible to operate two major glass plants by importing coal from Northern KYUSHU. The manufacturing of plate glass in JAPAN, which had been suspended since the end of the war was resumed in October and November, respectively, by the FUTASHIMA Factory of the JAPAN Plate Glass Manufacturing Company and by the AMAGASAKI Factory of MITSUBISHI Chemical Industries. The operation of these factories faced a crisis due to the shortage of coal, and for a while it was feared that their scheduled output would not be made.

In order to tide over the shortage in the coal supply, the MITSUBISHI Chemical Industries succeeded in arranging to have coal carried from Northern KYUSHU to the AMAGASAKI workshop by sailing ships equipped with auxiliary engines. The JAPAN Plate Glass Manufacturing Company arranged for preferential delivery of coal, by despatching its laborers to the coal mines. The monthly productive capacity of the FUTASHIMA Factory is 25,000 to 30,000 cases, while that of the AMAGASAKI Workshop is 35,000 to 40,000 cases. Another workshop located at YOKKAICHI and operated by the JAPAN Plate Glass Manufacturing Company will soon resume operation, by using waste glass as one of its raw materials. The Company is now negotiating with the authorities concerned for the

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delivery of some 10,000 tons of coal which is stored at the Second Naval Fuel Arsenal. The resumption of operation by the TSURUMI Workshop of MITSUBISHI will not be started within the current year, it is understood.

DISTRBUTION "X"

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