Press translations [Japan]. Economic Series 0054, 1945-12-07.

Full Translation:

Nineteen hundred sixty three chobu of farmland for raising potatoes during 1946 has been allotted to TOKUSHIMA prefecture by the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry. The prefectural authorities planned, at the outset, to import seed potatoes from districts such as HOKKAIDO, AOMORI and OKAYAMA, but found it difficult to do so because of the generally poor crops grown in those districts; they learned that only a meager amount of seed was obtainable. Consequently, they decided that 785 chobu should be allotted for raising wheat instead of potatoes, and 1,178 for potatoes by using imported and native seed.

Under this plan, the locations of the areas converted into wheat fields, reaching 785 chobu, are NAHIGASHI, 50 chobu; KATSUURA, 36; NAKA, 49; UMIBE, 39; NANISHI, 21; ITANO, 204; AWA, 39; ASUE, 58; MIUMA, 270; MIYOSHI, 75.

Summary:

At a Wholesale inspection carried out by the TSUCHIURA police authorities in districts under their jurisdiction, it was found that a tremendous quantity of unidentified commodities is being kept in 56 civilian warehouses instead of being delivered to the Allied Forces or the IBARAGI Prefectural authorities.

The inspected districts included TSUCHIURA City and the KASUMIGAURA district which was formerly the well known base of Naval Air Forces; this is probably the reason why so many unidentified commodities were found there. In ASAHI-Mura, INASHIKI-Gun, 31 warehouses were found containing food, clothing supplies etc.

Principal items are as follows:

ECONOMIC SERIES: 54 (Continued)

ITEM 2 (Continued)

Covering nearly 105 kinds of commodities, the total amount is estimated at about one million yen at current market prices. In anticipation of further discoveries, the TSUCHIURA Branch Office of Central Liaison Office declared that the hoarding of such commodities is a punishable offense unless made public by 10 December.

Full Translation:

Construction of an aerial transmission line of 110,000 volts running across the KANMON Straits (between SHIMONOSEKI and MOJI) was finished recently. This project was begun in 1937, but its completion was delayed when the war ended.

It had been speeded up as an urgent war project. Hitherto, the electric connection between HONSHU and KYUSHU has depended upon a small line of 20,000 volts capacity which was being transmitted through the KANMON "Sea-bottom Tunnel". A transmission test by the new line was completed successfully on 1 December, supplying 20,000 kilowatts of hydraulic power to the substation in FUKUOKA from CHUGOKU. This corresponds to 4 - 500 tons of coal energy per day. It is scheduled to rise to 1,000 tons per day in the second phase of construction. In view of the present coal situation, this construction is of vital importance. In the first phase of construction, two long iron towers, many metres in length were built upon the hills of each side of MOJI and SHIMONOSEKI, connecting the six steel twined lines, the width of which is 150 square milimeters.

In spite of the various difficulties which accompanied the construction, it was a striking achievement in the construction technique of power-transmission lines that the work was finished without disturbing the navigation of ships in the KANNON Straits.

Summary:

Under the Supreme Commander's recent directive, there is an urgent need for the reconstruction of the silk industry as collateral for imports. Consequently, six of the larger companies - KATAKURA, SHOEI, GUNZE, SHINEI, EIKO, and SHINKO - are reportedly being reconverted upon the dissolution of the Silk Yarn Manufacturing Company, and absolute control over the silk industry is being arranged.

Through this reconstruction plan 62 factories and 14,870 silk reeling basins will be restored for these six companies. Factories to be restored are divided as follows:

• 1.Ten factories, which were formerly used for the munitions manufacture, will be reconverted for the silk industry.
• 2.Two factories, which were destroyed by air raids, will be reconstructed.
• 3.Nineteen short fiber manufacturing factories will be converted to silk manufacture.
• 4.One new factory will be built.

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ECONOMIC SERIES: 54 (Continued)

ITEM 4 (Continued)

Twenty-nine factories now engaged in silk yarn manufacture will need no repair work. The proportion of factories to be restored among the six companies is: 27 factories for KATAKURA, l8 factories for GUNZE, seven factories for SHOEI, four factories for SHINEI, three factories for EIKO and three factories for SHINKO.

ITEM 5 Grand Drainage Works of the TENRYU River Under Way for the Cultivation of 9,000 Chobu Area - The Chubu Nippon Shimbun - 29 Nov 45. Translator: T. Okamura.

Summary:

Large-scale drainage works to supply water to a vast area covering 9,000 chobu is now under construction along the famed river TENRYU, SHIZUOKA Prefecture. The authorities hope to increase the rice and wheat production by construction of the works. The area which covers within its boundary the township of HAMAKATSU, and the four counties of HAMANA, HIKISA, IWATA and SUCHI, lies along both banks of the river, and the drainage works were started in 1941 when the Greater East Asia War broke out.

Drainage works were conducted from ancient times around this river, and these are two water reservoirs in the IWATA Field on the left bank. One called TERADA YOSUI is said to have been constructed in the TOKUGAWA Era, and the other named TOBU IWATA YOSUI (Eastern IWATA Reservoir) was constructed by the prefectural authorities in 1929. The TERADA Water Reservoir, which irrigates an areancovering 2,042 chobu, gets its water from the TENRYU River, but in recent years, water has been scarce due to the constant changed of location of the river basin and the river bed. The Eastern IWATA Reservoir irrigating an area of 3,434 chobu takes its water from the OHTA River and its branches, but these district suffer from drought almost every year, due to the small supply of water.

On the right side of the river lies a field covering an area of 3,459 chobu, which was being irrigated by the water from the smaller YASUMA, YOSHI and MAGOME Rivers. The area which was irrigated by the TENRYU River covers an area of only 150 chobu. To irrigate such a vast area by utilizing the abudant water of the TENRYU, drainage construction works were conducted from ancient time. It was, and still is, an earnest desire of the inhabitants of these territories to get ample irrigation. To meet this demand, the Agricultural Land Development Association which was organized in 1941, started the construction works of the vast drainage as one of the three big enterprises which the association conducted, together with similar works at the AGANO and JOGANJI Rivers in NIIGATA and TOYAMA Prefectures, respectively.

According to the plan, the waterway on the left bank measures 60 kilometers including a 1,200 meter tunnel, while that on the right bank is 58 kilometers in length including a 450 meter tunnel. Most fundamental construction works were conducted by the association and other works are being done by the prefectural authorities.

More than 1,000 people are daily mobilized for the construction. Labor service is rendered by students, servicemen, and members of national voluntary corps. The tunnel on the left bank was completed in May of last year, while that on the right bank was completed in August of the same year. Now a waterway of only eight kilometers is left unfinished. With steady progress in the construction of the works, a 15,000 koku increase in crops was produced by helpful irrigation. This was made possible by the works in the IWATA Field Area which last year had suffered from drought.

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ECONOMIC SERIES: 54 (Continued)

The area around the YASUMA River escaped the flood disater this year and an increase of 2,000 koku of rice is anticipated for the current harvest year. Some 80 per cent of paddy fields in HAMANA districts are said to have improved so much that now it has become possible to enforce two crop farming. The steady progress of the works must also be attributed to the wholesale payment of the assigned expenditure for the district, amounting to 1,400,000 yen by the KINBARA Foundation for Land and River Improvement Works.

Another plan to improve an area measuring 1,700 chobu, formerly used by the Army as airfields or strategic purposes is also under way. It will commence this year as a five-year plan. The project is being drawn up for the benefit of the war stricken people as well as demobilized, ex-servicemen and discharged, workers.

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