Press translations [Japan]. Economic Series 0047, 1945-12-05.
Date5 December, 1945
translation numbereconomic-0227
call numberDS801 .S81
Persistent Identifier
ECONOMIC SERIES: 47
ITEM 1 Finance Ministry Exemets Fifteen Corporations from Penorting Investments - Chubu Nippon - 26 Nov 45. Translator: T. Okamura.
Full translation:
Fifteen corporations with head offices located in foriegn countries have been selected
by the Finance Ministry for exemption
from reporting the investments, etc., of individual shareholders. Another five or
six such corporations will be announced by
the Ministry in near future. Corporations exempted are as follows:
The SOUTH MANCHURIA Railway company; The MANCHURIA Telephone and Telegraph company;
The SOUTH MANCHURIA Mining company; The
DAIREN Machine Manufacturing Works, Limited; The MANCHURIA wool Textile company; The
ASANO cement Company of MANCHURIA; The
CHOSEN Electric Company; The [illegible]SUIKO sugar Manufacturing Company; The MANCHURIA Heavy Industry
Development Company; The MANUCHURIA Electric corporation; The MANCHURIA Arsenal; The
MANCHURIA Tobacco corporation; The
I[illegible]AKI cement Manufacturing company of MANCHURIA: The Central CHINA Development Company;
and
The [illegible]ITTO Industrial Company.
Shareholders of corporations whose head offices are in JAPAN and which manage their
major business transactions in foreign
territories, are exempted from reporting. However, these corporations are requested
to report the names and addresses of
shareholders who own over ten per cent of the total shares of individual corporations.
These reports must be submitted through
the head office or branch offices of the Bank of JAPAN to the Finance Ministry, together
with the formal reports on
investments in foreign territories, as indicated sometime ago.
ITEM 2 This year's Rice Prospects; Rad Crop Expected - Nippon Sangyo Keizai - 1 Dec 45. Translator. Y. Sato.
Full Translation.
The rice crops of JAPAN Proper this year have been unusually bad. According to the
first survey made by the Agriculture and
Forestry Ministry or 20 September, the expected yield this year is 46,000,000 koku,
a decrease of 11,940,000 koku compared to
last year's yield. Since the investigation, the climate has been rather favorable.
Although there was much rain in October,
and clear weather continued throughout the whole November, actual results seem to
have gone a little beyond expectations,
especially in the western part of JAPAN.
ECONOMIC SERIES: 47 (Continued)
ITEM 2 (Continued)
On 31.October the Information section of the National Agricultural Corporation, mobilizing
all the members of the local
information office, collected reports relating to the anticipated rice crops of this
year. The reports gathered from 34
different areas show that the anticipated rice crop this year amounts to 35,520,000
koku; and adding the estimate of another
12 areas which have not yet been reported, the total yield will be in excess of 47
120,000 koku. This is, to be sure, a bad
crop, but it will not be less than 46 or 47,000, 000 koku:
The following table indicates the anticipated yield compared with last year, based
on the 31 October report of the
Agricultural Association:
Estimated yield 19 45 | 1944 yield | |
HOKKAIDO | 1,202,000 koku | 2,925,000 koku |
IWATE | 913,000 " | 1,248,000 " |
VIYAGI | 1,500,000 " | 1,806,000 " |
AKITA | 1,68[illegible],000 | 2,081,000 " |
YAMAGATA | 1,720,000 " | 2,128,000 " |
FUKUSHIMA | 1,700,000 " | 2,162,000 " |
IB[illegible]AGI | 1,500,000 " | 1,871,000 " |
GUMMA | 634,000 " | 835,000 " |
SAITAMA | 1,221,000 " | 1,450,000 " |
CHIBA | 1,614,000 " | 2,004,000 " |
KANAGAWA | 383,000 " | 425,000 " |
TOYAMA | 1,130,000 " | 1,574,000 " |
ISHIKANA | 850,000 " | 1,073,000 " |
FUKUI | 840,000 " | 1,025,000 " |
YAMAMASHI | 400,000 " | 450,000 " |
NAGANO | 1,361 000 " | 1,692,000 " |
GIFU | 1,040,000 " | 1,240,000 " |
SHIZUOKA | 1,250,000 " | 1,207,000 " |
AICFI | 1,750,000 " | 1,863,000 " |
NIE | 1,200,000 " | 1,270,000 " |
SHIGA | 1,23[illegible],000 " | 1,401,000 " |
KYOTO | 780,000 " | 748,000 " |
OSAKA | 723,000 " | 726,000 " |
- 2 -
ECONOMIC SERIES: 47 (Continued)
ITEM 2 (Continued)
HYOGO | 1,200,000 koku | 1,808,000 koku |
NARA | 630,000 " | 546,000 " |
MAKAYAMA | 501,000 " | 534,000 " |
TOKUSHIMA | 885,000 " | 524,000 " |
MAGAMA | 470,000 " | 553,000 " |
KOCHI | 400,000 " | 553, 000 " |
FUKUOKA | 2,056,000 " | 2,105,000 " |
SAGA | 960,000 " | 1,106,000 " |
MAGASAKI | 326,000 " | 408,000 " |
OITA | 762,000 " | 976,000 " |
MIYAZAKI | 400,000 " | 695,000 " |
KAGOSHIMA | 900,000 " | 1,085,000 " |
ITEM 3 Procedure for Delivery and payment of Goods Delivered to the Occupation Force - Nippon Sangyo keizai - 2 Dec 45. Translator: R. Aoki.
Full translation:
Because of the lack of familiarity with the procedure regarding payment for goods
delivered to the UNITED STATES Eighth Army,
delays have often occurred. For this reason the YOKOHAMA Branch of the central Liaison
Office has made public the approved
procedure regarding payment for delivered goods so that unnecessary delays may be
avoided.
When the Eighth Army orders something from the Japanese Government, it presents the
Central Liaison office with two copies of
a requisition bearing the signatures of a responsible American officer and that of
a Japanese official of the Liaison Office.
These documents will be presented to the owner of the goods through the Public Relation
Section of the Prefectur[illegible]Then the owner will deliver the goods in exchange for a formal receipt from the American
Army. For
payment, this receipt, together with a bill produced by the owner, must be submitted
to the prefectural Governor through try
public Relation Section.
All deliveries and payments shall be handled in this manner. No other method will
be deemed acceptable. It is assured that
there is no question of direct requisitioning of personal property by the Occupation
Force. The Occupation Army authorities
have agreed upon this point in concrete terms. But if any such action occurs as an
emergency measure or due to some
unfamiliarity with the procedure, the person should deliver the item, but must be
sure to obtain a temporary receipt from the
person directly responsible for the requisition, and immediately report the matter
to the YOKOHAMA Branch of the Liaison
Office. If this is delayed, confirmation of the transaction may become difficult,
because the detachment for which the
requisition was made may have moved to some other area.
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ECONOMIC SERIES: 47 (Continued)
ITEM 4 Coal expected 949,000 tons in December; Distribution only to specified Industries - Nippon Sangyo Keikai - 2 Dec 45. Translator: H. Shindo.
Full Translation:
We are now facing a severe winter without coal. Furnaces operate only now and then
and cake burners cannot be used at all.
Many industries have closed down because of the coal deficiency. If the current coal
condition is not changed, our vital
industries may decline. But if the state railway strictly limits the operations of
passenger and freight trains, the
food-problem will become more serious. In spite of this condition, coal production
during November decreased to below 500,000
metric tons; this is the lowest it has ever been. Although we are striving for a goal
of 10,000,000 metric tons during the
latter half of this fiscal year, the coal situation shows no signs of improving. [illegible]present rate,
only one third of that goal will be reached.
The Commerce and Industry Ministry forecasts that coal-production will hit its lowest
point during December. Therefore, we can
no longer hope for the tonnage [illegible]previously anticipated. The Ministry assembled the personnel of
the Coal Policy Committee Distribution Section on 29 November 1945 to discuss the
coal distribution plan for the month of
December and decided to adopt a rationing plan. This will be based on a total of 949,000
metric tons consisting of 535,000
metric tons to be produced and 414,000 metric tons to be released from coal in stock.
According to this plan, only specified
industries will be given coal during December. Small quantities will be available
for the HONSHU and HOKKAIDO railways.
The solution of the coal shortage is in the hands of the miners and other coal workers.
We must fill the mines with a great
number of laborers and send steamers and sailing vessels at the right time to the
right Places to distribute the coal still in
stock.
ITEM 5 Organizing bill for Silk-yarn Industry Association - Nippon Sangyo Keizai - 2 Dec 45. Translator: Z. Konishi.
Summary:
A plan for the organization of the NIPPON Silk-[illegible]arn Industry Association will be submitted to
General MacArthur's Headquarters for approval. The Plan which was decided upon after
several conferences of the organizing
committee is as follows: (1) Organization - To consist of six departments under the
president of the Association, namely,
General Affairs, Accounting, sericulture, silkworm Classification, Silk Yarn, and
Export Departments. Branch Offices will be
set up in local districts according to necessity. The local silkyarn industry Associations
will be self-managed, but will
co-operate with the central Association. (2) Operation - After the various departments
have been estatblished, a
Representative Assembly will be established consisting of the president, vice-president,
members, and special members. Members
of the Assembly and Special-members are to be elected from each department. Additional
members will be elected from other
fields of the business or from among men of experience and knowledge.
A forty-eight man council to consider only important matters will be appointed from
among the members and special members. The
method of election of the President, Vice-president and Directors has not yet been
decided, but it appears that a Board of
Directors consisting of 28 members will be elected from among the members of the Representative
- 4 -
ECONOMIC SERIES: 47 (Continued)
ITEM 5(Continued)
Assembly and that the President will be elected at the Directors' meeting.
Noteworthy results of the plan outlined above would be:
(1) Agriculture Associations would be limited in their activities as representatives
of the sericulturists; (2) It is possible
to expect more democratic methods from the establishment of the departmental assembly;
(3) Excessive Concentration of business
will be prevented. Generally, however, the plan does not seem like a perfect measure
for destroying old feudal
influences.
ITEM 6. Economic Measures of the Government clarified in the Diet - Tokyo Shimbun - 3 Dec 45. Translator: M. Maruyama.
Summary:
Important economic measures with particular reference to food, currency, commerce,
industry. Civilian livelihood and import
articles, all of which have serious bearing upon the peoples' daily lives, are being
earnestly discussed in the Diet sessions
of both the House of Representatives and House of peers. The following is a general
survey of these measures:
1. Food: The prevailing uneasiness is over the food situation in JAPAN, which may
bring starvation to many people by April of
next year. How to break through this situation will be the most vital mission 0f the
present Diet session. During the first
three days of the plenary sessions of the two Houses interpellations were virtually
concentrated on this problem. Premier
SHID[illegible]HARA, in his speech on the administrative policy, referred to the problem of food
and
declared that its solution would form the foundation for stabilizing popular livelihood.
The principal interpellators on the
question included Mr. MATSUMURA, Shinichiro, (KENNYUKAI) of the House of Peers; Mr.
MATSUMURA, KOZO (Progressive Party) of the
House of Representatives; Mr. HATOYAMA [illegible]hiro, (Liberal Party) of the House of Representatives;
NISHIO; Suehiro (Social-Democratic Party), of the House Peers. (TN - KENKYUKAI - a
faction in the House of peers) The replies
of the Government to the interpellations are summarized as follows:
The importation of foodstuffs has been permitted in principle through the good will
and understanding of the supreme Commander
of the Allied Powers. Efforts are being made by the Government to start it as quickly
as possible. It is doubtful, however,
whether the necessary food can be really obtained in time to meet the coming food
crisis. Even if the foods are imported, the
restoration of rice ration to 2.3 go, net to mention an increased ration to 3 go,
will be difficult. Naturally, the Government
is planning to utilize grass, grass roots and bark of trees for dietary purposes.
The Government plans to compel farmers to deliver 30,000,000 koku of rice out of
this year's estimated crop totalling
43,000,000 koku, the lowest figure in many years, and to let them deliver wheat and
other cereals if they find it difficult to
fulfill the delivery of assigned rice. It is also planned that the Government will
give fertilizer and farm implements to the
farmers who fulfill their rice deliveries faithfully. All these are temporary measures,
but the Government intends to:
introduce a farm land reform bill in the present Diet session as a permanent step
in solving the agricultural problem.
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ECONOMIC SERIES: 47 (Continued)
ITEM 6 (Continued)
In answer to an interpellation put by Mr. MAUSUMURA, Kozo, Agriculture and Forestry
Minister MATSUMURA, Kenzo, said, "The 3.3
go rice ration is impossible under the present circumstances, but it is planned that
the Government will distribute substitute
foods to compensate for the deficiency. The Government will maintain present control
on the principal foods. Rice monopoly is
not contemplated by the Government."
Answering an interpellation of Mr. MATSUMURA, Shinichiro, (Fouse of Peers), the Agriculture
and Forestry Minister, said,
"Nothing definite has yet been decided on the import quantity of rice, the date of
importation and other details, although the
Government has received permission in principle by the Supreme Commander on the importation
of food. The 2.3 go rice ration
may he possible, but this depends upon the amount of prospective rice importation.
The Government expects that about 750,000
tons of ammonium sulphate fertilizer will be produced here next year and 2,000,000
tons in 1947."
2. Finance: Finance Minister SHIBUSAWA made the following statement to a question
concerning inflation put by Mr. MATSUMURA,
Kozo at the plenary session of the House on 28 November: "Disharmony between the values
of money and materials is remarkable
at present. How to harmonize the difference will be the crux of the Government's financial
policy. The Government is going to
draft a five-year financial plan for this purpose. At the same time, the Government
will make efforts to contract the currency
in circulation by means of establishing a war profit tax and levying the full amount
of the profit in addition to the capital
levy. The two steps have an anti-inflation policy as their immediate aim, and the
restoration of the former sound economic
status as the ultimate objective. The people are requested to give their fullest support
to these taxes. Strict care will have
to be exercised by the Government in the imposition of these taxes, because, if it
errs, this will not only place the nation
in the utmost distress but will make the possession of unfair and partial wealth more
pronounced than ever before. The
Government, therefore, will place profits, not produced by the war, outside the limits
of the two new taxes. Financial and
other fiscal measures alone will not [illegible]to counteract inflation. In this connection, production
increase must also be realized. Taking this into consideration, the Government will
defray a possibly large sum of money for
production increase next year."
3. Commerce and Industry: Commerce and Industry Minister OGASAWARA answered to an
interpellation of Representative MATSUMURA,
Kozo, at the House plenary session on 28 November by saying that the Government plans
to submit to the next Diet session a
basic industry bill to set the main outlines for economic democratization. The Minister
also expressed the Government's idea
to reform the status of control associations. Answering a question by Representative
TAMURA, Hidekichi, the commerce and
Industry Minister declared, "The abolition of the license system has not yet been
made through law, but it has been done in
reality; this has been effected, as is seen from a. joint note, issued by the vice-ministers
to the prefectural governors. The
present steps extended to coal mining and several other industries can be interpreted
as the defacto abolition of the license
system. Representative [illegible]IYOSHI, Nobufusa, inquired about the fiber industry at the plenary session
of the House on 29 November, to which Minister OGASAWARA answered as follows: "About
35 per cent of the fiber industry of this
country is at present in operation. JAPAN is planning to import 180,000 tons or 2,880,000
piculs of cotton during one year
beginning with the last quarter of 1945 to the third quarter of next year."
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ECONOMIC SERIES: 47 (Continued)
ITEM 6 (Continued)
4. Civilian Livelihood: The most heated discussion was on civilian livelihood which
forms the most vital problem in the
situation following the war. Representative TAMURA made a series of interpellations
on the problem, to which Welfare Minister
ASHIDA answered, "The number of unemployed is expected to total about 13,000,000,
including 6,000,000 demobilized veterans.
How to give them appropriate jobs is a momentous problem. The Government is contemplating
the adoption of various relief
measures, including the development of farm land and reconversion of the munitions
industry into peacetime industry.
Answering an interpellation of Representative NISHIO (Social Democratic) on 29 November
the Welfare Minister said, "The
Japanese at large take about 1,400 calories from the daily rice ration of 2.1 go and
some vegetables in contrast to the
absolute minimum of about 1,600 needed calories. Efforts are being made by the Government
to replenish the shortage."
Minister ASHIDA to a question of Representative FUKUYA, Toshiichi, at the House plenary
session on 30 November answered, "The
pensions for veterans and their families will be abolished as of 1 February 1946 in
conformity with the Supreme Commander's
directive. This abolition will have a very far-reaching influence. Those who are entitled
to pensions in JAPAN proper numbered
1,376,000 as of 20 September. A total sum of pensions amounting to 497,700,000 yen
is paid to these. Those overseas number
4,413,000, and to them a total of 1,293,000,000 yen is paid. The combined total of
pension-holders is 5,789,000, to whom is
appropriated 1,790,000,000 yen. The Government is studying measures of how to counteract
this abolition. A special commission
is likely to be organized for that purpose."
5. Imports: Commerce and Industry Minister OGASAWARA made the following explanation
to a question put by Representative NISHIO
on the importation of vital commodities at the House plenary session on 30 November
"What will be made collateral goods for
the importation of food, petroleum products, salt, raw cotton and others is now being
studied by the respective Ministers
concerned. The Government's import plan involves 1,130,000 tons of coal, 850,000 tons
of ferrous ores, 1,500,000 tons of salt,
180,000 tons of cotton, 128,000 tons of non-ferrous metals, 653 kiloliters of petroleum
products, etc., costing approximately
2,800,000,000 yen. The collateral goods for these imports consist of l,6l3,000,000
yen in fiber products, 359,000,000 yen in
chemical products, 431,000,000 yen in machines, 157,000,000 yen in miscellaneous goods,
(304,000,000 yen in tea, canned goods,
furs, agar-agar, medicinal ginseng, camphor products and others, and 205,000,000 yen
in industrial art production. The
combined total value of these prospective exports is 2,700,000,000 yen."
The Minister further said in answer to Mr. NISHIO: "Due to a bumper rice crop in
KOREA, that country is able to export rice
ranging from 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 koku. The agricultural crops in the UNITED STATES
are considerable this year. The wheat
crop amounts to 250,000,000 bushels, which is an increase of 66,000,000 bushels over
the year before. It is expected that
about 66,000,000 bushels may be chipped from Canada and Australia."
DISTRIBUTION "X"
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