Press translations [Japan]. Economic Series 0170, 1946-01-16.

Full Translation:

As a result of the removal of the control on fresh provisions, prices have soared so high that even the bourgeoisie is perplexed. Wage earners are so destitute that they are crying for the restoration of governmental control. Because of this situation, house rent has substantially been raised by some house-owners in the SHIMABARA District, presumably under the misapprehension that all governmental control has been removed. Some have raised rents 30 to 50 per cent above former rates, which led other house owners to do the same.

House rents, as well as land rents, are still under control, and an increase may be approved only when houses are rebuilt or enlarged. Even increased taxes are not sufficient reason for the increase in house rents. The SHIMABARA Police Station that decided to control these rents strictly, and for this purpose, the National Mobilization Law (KOKKA SODOIN HO) will be applied at the request of tenants.

Summary:

The spontaneous growth of consumers' co-operatives is one of the new phenomena in JAPAN. There are simultaneous moves to organize such co-operatives in SHINJUKU, SHIBUYA, SHINAGAWA, and other YAMATE areas in TOKYO. The best organized co-operatives are those federated under the Federation of Western Consumers' Cooperatives (TOKYO SEIBU SEIKATSU KYODO KUMIAI RENGOKAI). This Federation is composed of seven co-operatives located around the Central Railroad Line (CHUO-SEN) west of SHINJUKU. Because of the future importance of neighborhood associations, we may make a survey of the present condition of these co-operatives.

Besides those co-operatives under the Western Federation there are organizations getting under way in SETAGAYA, SHIBUYA, MEGURO, and EBARA Ku. Most of them are organizing in CHOKAI (township associations) units, and some are still so unorganized that they simply attempt to distribute items purchased at nearby black markets. Even the Federation is merely one month old.

The Western Federation has been composed of seven co-operatives of CHOKAI units, the ultimate membership being 100,000 people of 20,000 households, or 20 per cent of the total population and households in that area. During the past half month the

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co-operatives under the Federation handled commodities valued at 240,000 yen. The per household distribution has amounted to 100 yen, which is relatively little in the present inflated conditions of family expenditures. The commodities in which they dealt were horse-radish, green onions, taro, and other vegetables, as well as vegetable oils, green tea, orange, dried sweet potatoes, socks and stockings, getas, etc.

As to the difficulties confronting the co-operatives, there are the problems of buying and transporting stock. For instance, their position at the Central Fresh Food Market is still undecided, and furthermore, in case of direct purchase from the rural districts there is the question of interference by local governments or the question of collateral goods to be supplied to the farmers.

Full Translation:

According to the order of Allied Headquarters for popularizing radio sets for home use, the Commerce and Industry Ministry set the production of January to December 1946 at 3,141,670 sets, and 20,000 of each type of radio tube between January and the end of March in order to stimulate radio production. The radio sets will be distributed in the ratio of about one set per two homes throughout the country as soon as they are ready for distribution. The wholesale price will be about 400 yen, (present wholesale price is 164 yen a set).

Measures for maintaining production are as follows:

In order to complete the radio tubes and receiver sets, necessary materials, such as electric lamps, coal, and gas will be procured, and the production of silicon steel plates will be stimulated.

The necessary steps for special distribution of food will be taken for the workers in the industry.

In order to stimulate the production of vacuum tubes, repair of damaged factories, rapid consolidation of scattered factories in various districts, and increase in the efficiency of existing factories will be planned. Production of a large number of radios by full-time manufacturing will be effected by April 1946.

Full Translation:

The budget of JAPAN, for the new fiscal year of 1946 starting from April will be a working one, since it has now become decidedly certain that the general election will be run after 15 March; consequently, it is impossible to deliberate and decide the new fiscal year's budget at the Diet session in March.

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ITEM 4 (Continued)

In such a case, the new budget is to be conducted on a working bases according to provisions of article 70 of the Constitution. Since it is generally believed that the 1945 budget will require additional expenditures, the Government is now studying whether or not to apply emergency measures as provided by the Constitution, in anticipation of the shortage of revenue.

Among the items anticipated to be added as expenditures to the ordinary 1945 budget are approximately 70 million yen for the relief of Japanese evacuees from foreign territories, some 100 million yen for subsidies to be granted for the relief from typhoon and flood disasters, 160 million yen for the development of arable land, 50 million yen for subsidy for reconstruction works in war stricken districts, 200 million yen for relief of the unemployed and other social welfare enterprises, over 100 million yen for relief of Korean and Chinese laborers, etc., aggregating 700 to 800 million yen.

The revenue will consist of 80 million yen, which is the remainder of the current year's reserve fund; over 300 million yen are to be raised by the sales of the new brand cigarettes, from sums to be carried forward from the ordinary budget, and other similar sums created by the suspension of special army expenditures. Even when these sources are taken into consideration, it is believed that the Government will still not meet the shortage of revenue.

Financial emergency measures are usually taken to create new revenue. In this connection, if the Government should take such steps, it would resort to the issue of new national bonds. The Government, however, seems to avoid such an unconstitutional measure. When the balance between expenditure and revenue is small, the Government will try to reduce the expenditure as much as possible, in order to readjust the balance.

Even if the Government is compelled to issue new bonds, the amount of bonds to be issued will not exceed the 200 to 300 million yen mark. Such emergency measures to meet the financial situation was witnessed in 1925, when the Government issued bonds several times for relief and rehabilitation after the great earthquake disasters in the KANTO District.

The working budget system is against the regulations provided in the Constitution, and it is now being discussed among the authorities concerned with the revision of the Constitution. Even if a provisional budget system, like that in GREAT BRITAIN, is introduced in JAPAN in 1946 through the scheduled reform of the Constitution, the 1946 budget must be carried on a working basis.

The working budget system is understood to work in the following manner: The items which are common to both the 1945 and 1946 budgets will be enacted, while those which are calculated in the1945 budget, and not in the 1946 budget, will be cancelled. On the other hand, those items which are calculated in the 1946 budget, and not in the 1945 budget, will be submitted for approval to the extraordinary session of the Diet as supplementary budget.

The 1946 fiscal year is an ordinary year so far as the budget is concerned, and most items calculated in the previous year's budget will not be used, since the 1945 budget was a war budget. For

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example, the military relief accounts cannot be used for social relief. Consequently, funds which may be used in 1946 as part of the working budget will not number so many, and such items will, for the most part, be left open for the Diet to include in a supplementary budget.

It is anticipated that the 1946 ordinary budget will not exceed 20 billion yen, which will consist of the ordinary budget decided upon sometime ago and the supplementary budget now under discussion. In the case of the working budget expenditures will take up some portion of the ordinary budget, while the revenue will be 13,300 million yen, the same as the ordinary budget. The others will be calculated as supplementary budget. Thus, the total amount will not differ from the projected figure.

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