Press translations [Japan]. Economic Series 0132, 1946-01-06.
Date6 January, 1946
translation numbereconomic-0638
call numberDS801 .S81
Persistent Identifier
ECONOMIC SERIES: 132
ITEM 1 Unemployment Conditions in the Central Region - Chubu Nippon Shimbun (NAGOYA) - 28 Dec 45. Translator: R. Aoki.
Summary:
Unemployment conditions in CHUBU or the Central Region were reviewed by the CHUBU
NIPPON SHIMBUN. The statistical summaries of
unemployment for each prefecture of that Region were given as follows; AICHI-446,000;
GIFU-140,000; MIE-99,837; SHIZUOKA-108,
663; SHIGA-5,520; TOYAMA-15,800; NIIGATA-50,560: KYOTO-88,900; NARA-9,000; FUKUT-87,000;
NAGANO-68,430; ISHIKAWA-33,000.
Those figures were obtained from official sources. Nevertheless, some of them are
more guesses, while, others are more
reliable. But these statistics are not reliable. The figures of some prefectures include
demobilized soldiers irrespective of
their ability or willingness to work. Under such circumstances, only a descriptive
study of each prefecture, instead of a
statistical analysis, will give a reliable picture of unemployment conditions in any
locality. The case of AICHI-Ken, the most
important prefecture in CHUBU will be described.
AICHI - Ken includes the important city of NAGOYA. The "unemployment estimate of
446,000 involves the following:
Demobilized soldiers - | 137,000 |
Unemployment due to closing of factories - | 300,000 |
Repatriation and others - | 9,000 |
Total | 446,000 |
of the above total, unemployed persons number 155,000, And among the latter figure,
47,800 or about 30 per cent visited the
Labor Mobilization Offices (KINRO DOINSHO), while the number of positions available
reached 64,000. Now, among the 47,800
persons being sought for posts, 17,400, or less than one-third, were placed in jobs.
Such is a brief statistical survey of
unemployment conditions in AICHI-Ken. Now the job-hunting situation, through a Labor
Mobilization Office in NAGOYA, will be
taken up in detail.
This office receives call from 150 or 200 persons daily. Formerly many of them called
at the Office rather whimsically. More
recently, the visitors are seriously seeking employment. With regard to the contacts
handled by this office, the most
desirable is a job in the coal mines, the daily wages being from 8 yen to 12 yen;
with a rice ration of 5 go instead of the
2.1 go of the general public. On the other hand, the monthly wages of factory workers
rang from 100 to 150 yen for males and
40 to 50 yen for females. Salaries for graduates of girls' high schools range from
50-100 yen.
Formerly there was a definite tendency on the past of the employers
ECONOMIC SERIES: 132 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
to seek employees who were young and who would receive relatively low wages, but
the more recent tendency is to look for
stable workers, even paying their extra wages or granting them subsistence, Most factories
are eager to supply their employees
with lunches in order to obtain permanent workers. One of the other facts found at
this office is that many of the unemployed
have spent all their savings by the end of the year, and it is expected that more,
people will call at the office after the
New Year. In view of such a probability, one official of the Labor Mobilization Office
expressed the view that Government must
be prepared for such a development, and he lamented that the present food and price
conditions frustrate all Government
plans.
There is the other side of the employment situation as told by a factory manager.
"Generally speaking, about 50 per cent of
the men engaged to work actually stay in the factory permanently. About ten per cent
break the working agreement and quit on
the spot, and another 10 per cent quit two or three days later. The remaining 30 per
cent resign after ten or more days, when
the work requirements become clear. Wages for new men range from 100 to 200 yen a
month, depending upon the age or experience.
We know these are inadequate for any responsible worker, so we are planning to double
the pay in some way or other, besides
allowing them daily necessities. After all, the employers want good dependable workers."
ITEM 2 The Farm Land Reform Bill Drafted By the Communist Party - Nippon Sangyo Keizai - 4 Jan 46. Translator: K. Sato.
Full Translation:
The: Central Committ[illegible]of the Japanese Communist Party has drafted the Agrarian Reform Bill and
published it on 3 January. The Bill is as follows: In order to wipe out the militaristic
hotbed and develop a spirit of
democracy in agriculture, by democratizing the agrarian system thoroughly and liberating
farmers from conditions of slaves in
accordance with the directive issued by Allied Headquarters on 9 December 1945, based
up on the Potsdam Declaration, the
following qualification is absolutely necessary . The fundamental democratic reform
among farmers includes: 1. The complete
abolition of the feudalistic landlord system; 2. The establishment of farming rights;
3. The democratization of farm village
finance. Further, the program necessary for the realization of the above reform is
as follows: 1. The entire power to decide
questions involving agrarian reform will be entrusted in the hands of the committee
democratically chosen from among the
laboring farmer groups, except landlords, of each village, or community; 2. The use
of land or right to till lands,
undeveloped lands, pastures, and forests will be decided in a democratic way by this
committee. In order to carry out the
decisions of the committee, a specia1 committee will be organized, chosen from among
all the farmers concerned; 3. In this
relation the farm lands owned by absentee landlords will be transferred to land operators.
Imperial ostates, state lands,
lands owned by absentees landlords will be used by land operators, from of charge;
4. In all cases, the fixed prices for
tenant calculation will be 300 yen per tan (about 991 square metres) of rice field,
and 200 yen per tan of other fields. The
maximum tenant foe will be seven per cent of the crops and will be paid in cash; 5.
Private nortgages and rights of pledge
will be prohibited. Money loaned to farmers by absentees landlords and usurers which
threaten agrarian communities will at
once be frozen or canceled; 6. The question as to whether the land should be a privately
or jointly managed one will be
decided by every agrarian community; 7. The funds necessary for agricultural purposes
will be appropriated from the farm
coffers, with an interest of two per cent a year in the case of joint management,
and three per cent in the case of private
management; 8. The
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ECONOMIC SERIES: 132 (Continued)
ITEM 2 (Continued)
present bureaucratic Agricultural Corporation. (NAGYOKAI) will be dissolved and both
its funds and equipment will be
transferred to the Farmer's Committee (NOMINIIM). Each section under the Farmer's
Committee, such as production, distribution,
monetary circulation, manufacture, and cultivation will organize their respective
functions to carry on the activity; 9. It is
essential to establish the far-reaching , Farm Land Law which will present the land
from going into the hands of the landlords
and usurer ore again, and it will facilitate the development of this new agricultural
management.
ITEM 3 Co-operation Between Capital and Labor - Nippon Sangyo Keizai - 4 Jan 46. Translator: S. Iwata.
Full Translation:
According to the Welfare Ministry's report on 12 December 1945, Labor unions, which
have been established after the defeat,
number 65, The number of union members are over 77,000 and these are increasing day
by day. As the capitalists have to form
some organization, not to oppose, but to co-operate, the labor sections of the heavy
industry association and the JAPAN
economy association and have been under consideration by the four economic associations
committees. The latter are only socia1
associations as compared with the heavy industry association, the JAPAN economy association
and the JAPAN commerce and
industry economy union. These associations are remote in objective from the labor
unions, but they expect that a new
democratic association among the industrialists will appear.
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