Press translations [Japan]. Economic Series 0178, 1946-01-19.

Summary:

Systematic activities of agricultural associations all ever the country are well under way, but owing to their tradition of feudal oppression, their movement is not as colorful as that of the urban trade unions.

The platform of the leading association is as follows: 1. Elimination of bureaucracy from associations. 2. Measures to cope with the poor crop experienced in 1945; 3. Solutions of food problems (especially of the system of delivering necessities for life to the Government under the fixed price delivery system); 4. Drastic improvement of farm land administration system.

Since the promulgation of the Farm Land Reform Bill by the Government, the associations have become engaged in more concrete problems. They have faced cases in which landlords sold their lands in haste at exceptionally high prices, requests by landlords of termination of lease, conflicts between associations and prefectural authorities regarding the fixed rice delivery system, etc. We cannot overlook the fact that the Bill has encouraged the birth of new agricultural associations.

The revised Farm Land Reform Bill offered difficulties which can be attributable to the following facts:

• 1.Though the Bill was drafted to democratize farmland administration and abolish class distinctions this proved to be merely bureaucratic idealism, Landlords are still in power in agricultural structure.
• 2.The bill stating that landowners may receive rent in kind in case tenants so agree will cause tenants to become servile should they wish to persuade the landlord to receive the type of rent which their landlord is not in favor of. Only a united body of tenants will be able to negotiate with landlords on equal level in such a case.
• 3.The land-purchasing committee of the agricultural association in the original bill was to consist of five representatives including the ranks of landlords, independent farmers, and tenants, respectively, but the Reform Bill provided that another three men of good reputation were to be added to the committee. This will reenforce the landlords' camp, for so-called men of reputation usually are principals of schools, chief priests or members of the management of the association, that is, men who are not the sort to share anything in common with tenants. Here is another reason to encourage tenants to band together.

Since the end of the war, generally speaking, leaders of agricultural associations of the country have busied themselves in the basic activities of establishing new associations or the revival of default associations, especially [illegible]districts west of KINKI. In HOKKAIDO the extremely poor food situation caused by the poor crop, which was 30 per cent of normal and the inability to import food from other parts of the country because of lack of transportation gave rise to rioting. Farmers united in self-

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defense and developed agricultural associations. But farmers of the district, instead of opposing the consumers, are willing to co-operate with them in tiding over the food crisis.

Characteristic of HOKKAIDO in the association movement is the lead taken by the lower echelon of the smaller local units. In the TOHOKU District in AOMORI-Ken, the Social Democratic Party and the prefectural authorities are acting in co-operation within the association movement. They are at present working to lay bare the goods hidden by former armed forces of JAPAN. In IWATE, the movement is not active. AKITA-Ken is the most progressive in the association movement among the prefectures of the district. Associations of the prefecture are insisting on their participation in supervising the distribution of rice delivery at fixed prices, which the Prefactural authorities have not yet agreed on. Preparations for establishment of associations are being made in YAMAGATA and FUKUSHIMA-Ken.

In MIYAGI-Ken, tenants in FUDODO village are actively engaged in trying to be exempted from tenants' fees for the year. Tenants in the Prefecture want to establish the association by themselves and to participate in problems concerning fixed rice deliveries through this organization. In KANTO District there are wide districts where the associations should be established. The prefecture has many lots formerly belonging to the armed forces of JAPAN. Especially the disposition of 70 chohu of land in ZAMA, where the army academy used to be, is a matter of dispute between the association and a nationalist body.

In SAITAMA end CHIBA-Ken the Communist Party movement is powerful. In HOKURIKU District the revival of former associations are progressing well in NIIGATA- Ken. Farmers in TOYANA-Ken are insisting that national forest lands be sold to them.

In CHUBU District there are vehement advocates in GIFU urging that war veterans should be excluded from purchasing lots of the former KAGAGAHARA landing field.

West of the KINKI District, in MIE, OSAKA, KYOTO and KYOGO, preparatory meetings to establish agricultural associations were held. The association movement in SEIKOKU. especially in KAGAWA-Ken is rather active. In SAGA, OITA, FUKUOKA and KAGOSHIMA-Ken of KYUSHU, preparatory, meetings for the establishment of associations were held. West of the BINEI district, the association movements have been disturbed in reviving the old associations and that much activity was asked of associations by candidates of the Social Democrat Party, whose base of political activities lies in the associations.

Summary:

Democratization of the Agricultural Districts.

A new bill to revise the agricultural system, at present one of JAPAN's most important problems, was introduced in the Diet. The principal object of this bill is to reform the Japanese feudal system, and establish a suitable democratic system in the now JAPAN. The majority of the farmers in JAPAN are tenants or small landowners, and in 1940, the statistics of the Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture revealed that of the 5,480,000 farms in JAPAN, 1,700,000 were worked by tenant farmers and 2,300,000 owned by small landowners.

Therefore, 70 per cent of JAPAN'S farmers are small landowners or tenant farmers, and these farmers have been influenced and dominated by the

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large landowners. This system whereby tenant farmers end small land-ownern must serve the large landowners should be broken down. The MEIJI Restoration should have seen the end of the feudal system but it survived, so we should now abolish it completely.

Increase in Food Supply and Land Reform.

The second aim of this bill is to make a better plan for increasing and distributing provisions. In building a new JAPAN we must increase the output of all industries; however, the workers in industrial plants must have food s a system to increase the production of food must be established. To do this, we must make ell tenant farmers small landowners no matter how small the land, for the lane of the tenant farmer does not belong to him and. the more he produces the more he must pay his landowner for using it. Then, too, if the cultivated land is good, the tenant farmer never knows when he will be told to move.

The production of food will never increase as long as the people remain tenant farmers. If the products of the tenant farmers increase 20 per cent, rice alone will be increased by six millon koku a year. This shows that these people have been oppressed by a few dominating landlords.

Renewed Faith in the Government and Food Distribution.

The third aim of this bill is acceleration of the distribution of food. The farmers in general have an antoganistic feeling towards politics, because the Government made difficult demands of them during the war and, furthermore, [illegible]lized the products they produced. This antagonistic feeling is very strong, and they have lost all confidence in the Japanese Government. Therefore, a democratic government would be most essential to regain the confidence of the farmers. Consequently, we should enable these tenant farmers to buy the land, they till.

Farm Bill Proposal.

The fourth aim of the bill is a reform in the foundation of the agricultural program. The large landowners have representatives in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Imperial Agricultural Association (TEIKOKU NOKAI), and the Producer's Association (SANGYO KUMIAI), They exert influence over everything pertaining to agriculture. However, the people who actually do the manual labor are the tenant farmers and the small landowners. Unless this situation is corrected, production will not increase.

According to this plan of reforming the agricultural system, the large landowners will disappear and their power and influence will be nullified. We would be assured production and progress, and a foundation for the solution to the problem of raising the farmers's living standards will be laid. The power of dominating landow[illegible]will disappear, and the problem of the production and distribution of foods will become a matter for the entire nation to settle.

Criticism of the Agricultural Reform Law.

Agrarian Reform was instituted to accomplish the above four objectives; however, the bill is still defective because the plan is to improve the agricultural system of JAPAN, and should state reasons for the necessity of the plan. This bill must be an independent one, and not just a clause in some other oill. It is the most important reform bill for JAPAN'S new agricultural problem and must indicate clearly the method which is to he employed in the reconstruction of the agricultural districts.

The Government was to permit landlords to retain three chobu of land

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ITEM 2 (Continued)

but this has now been changed to five chobu. This system is undemocratic since some farmers will not be able to buy land and will be forced to remain tenant farmers. The agricultural district leaders must be appointed to the office not because he is wealthy or his family is influential, but because of his good character and public interest.

The Imperial Agricultural Association took control of the purchasing of the land, but this association is nothing more than a group of representatives of the large landowners and bureaucrats. Control by such representatives is contradictory to the democratic system which our government is adopting. The Government is going to charge times the tent of the land for one year for rice fields and times for dry fields; however, this should be reduced to 33 times for the rice fields. Furthermore, representatives to agricultural associations should not be appointed but should be elected to office by the farmers.

Problems Hindering Reform.

This bill applies only to land owners owning more than five chobu. It would take five years to put this bill into effect. It is takes five years, the large landowner can easily move out his tenants and cultivate all the land by himself which would prevent the. Government from purchasing his land. The Government, according to the bill, can buy only what the large landowners have leased to tenants to cultivate, but by the end of five years, the landowner can surely adjust things to suit himself. Then the tenant farmers would be deprived of this land. Within this five-year period no one can forecast the abuses these large landowners will perpetrate on their simple tenants who probably have no knowledge of this bill.

In order to avoid difficulties arising from the ignorance of the tenant farmers in these affairs, a bill should be passed to protect the tenant farmers. A law should also be made to keep the large landowners from preventing tenant farmers from buying land and to prevent them from transferring the titles of their land to their families and relatives after 15 August 1945.

Agrarian Reform and the Future of the Agricultural Districts.

The new bill is an attempt to revise the agricultural system, democratize the farming districts, and develop farm industries. The classes of farmers should come to the same level and all the farmers should co-operate and unite together. If the farmers all unite, the capitalists will not be able to exploit them.

On the other [illegible]the Government and not business-men should control the prices of fertilizer and the former should organize co-operatives for the buying and selling of farm products. The use of machines will become more common and the circulation of money will improve.

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