Press translations [Japan]. Economic Series 0101, 1945-12-24.

Full translation:

Though control is removed, materials don't appear on the market as much as was expected. Strict control resulted in an active supply. Government control is now in confusion.

For a good example of this, we can refer to the meat case. For a time, the meat control acted reversely only some meat appeared on the market. However, in reaction against control, secret butchery began to prevail. As a result, a good deal of meat suddenly appeared on the table of each family, no matter whether it was bought at a high or cheap black market price. Now the Government has abolished the old price control and other regulations regarding meat, to prevent private butchery.

In relation to the steps taken by the Government, it was decided, in this ken too, to apply a free sale system in which prices are made to correspond to trade prices agreed on by the ken authorities. From the 15th, the merchants began to paste on their shop-windows a list of the standard trade prices, for the best quality of both beef and pork. The price was 9 yen per 100 momme, and beef and pork of an inferior quality was 5 yen. Mutton cost 5 yen on the average. Thus ostensibly they commenced a free sale of meat, but not a piece of meat has ever been put in their shop window, and they always post a notice "sold out today." This is because merchants are still supplying many consumers at black market prices, taking advantage of the abolition of control. Thus, the removal of control has induced merchants to obtain private profits and has encouraged more active secret butchery than before. Such a state of affairs makes the abolition of the control insignificant, and presages a poor prospect for the authorities.

Anyway, this is a good example which actually proved that control is very difficult, and the simple removal of control does not always insure good results.

Extracts:

The Imperial Government has been ordered by Allied Headquarters to list producers who have supplied the Army with tractors and machine tools during the five years from 1941 to 1945 and to report how many of them have been submitted annually for Army use during the same period.

According to this directive, trucks, bull-dozers, asphalt and concrete road-levellers, mobile and fisced rock-drills, automatic and pulling levellers, compressors, new-magic (NIYU MAJIKU) machines, roller-typed levellers, and sand an gravel mixers are included.

ECONOMIC SERIES: 101 (Continued)

Full translation:

Coping with the present coal crisis and aiming at security for coal-miners, on 5 December the Welfare Ministry held the first conference of the chief of the nation-wide labor section. The gist of the conference is as follows:

The greatest possible effort should be made to obtain the first quota of 60,000 coal-miners and the period for filling this quota is the end of February. The obtained number of miners up to the present is 45,085,75 per cent of the objective. Judging from the present rate, it should not be difficult to reach approximately 60,000 men. Such being the case conscription for the mines is not necessary, although it was to have been enforced sometime ago.

In some parts of coal-mine areas in HOKKAIDO and JOBAN, the preparations for the acceptance of miners are not satisfactory, and generally speaking, enthusiasm in receiving the miners is lacking. The authorities are now endeavoring to overcome this difficulty, and are considering distributing such good as rubber-soled socks etc. in co-operation with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The drastic raise in wages and the increase of the ration of rice are also under consideration. It will not be long before they will materialize.

Further, on 21 December the Ministry of Welfare held the second conference of the chiefs of the nation-wide labor sections at the Metropolitan Police Board and proposed to reach a quota of more than 73,000 miners, which is the objective of this second conference. This is to be accomplished by the end of next March. The result of the quota of miners by 19 December is as follows,

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ECONOMIC SERIES: 101 (Continued)

ITEM 3 (Continued)

DISTRIBUTION "X"

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