Press translations [Japan]. Economic Series 0186, 1946-01-20.
Date20 January, 1946
translation numbereconomic-0852
call numberDS801 .S81
Persistent Identifier
ECONOMIC SERIES: 186
ITEM 1 Nitrogenous Fertilizer Quota Fixed Though It Is Small in Quantity; Authorities Assure Rations - Mainichi Shimbun - 18 January 1946. Translator: H. Sato.
Full Translation:
The basic reason for the small crop of rice in 1945 lies in the shortage of fertilizer.
If fertilizer were insufficient, sweet
potatoes, vegetables, tobacco and other crop production would be poor, not only rice.
"We want fertilizer more than farming
tools, clothes or sake —more than anything else." This is the wish of farmers at present.
What will become of this year's
allotment of fertilizer is a question watched with keen interest, not merely by farmers
but by the entire Nation.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has recently fixed the quota of nitrogenous
fertilizer for each kind of crop for
January to July of 1946, and an announcement to this effect will be made shortly.
A summary of its contents follows: A request is being made to SCAP for imports of
phosphate ore amounting to 340,000 to
350,000 tons. But this has not yet materialized, and the quota is not revealed at
present. Apart from the table, as shown
below, there are 20,000 tons left over from the last distribution and 50,000 tons
will be given out in return for food
delivery. Thus, the sun total for this term is estimated at 350,000 to 360,000 tons.
As the result of an improvement in the coal situation, the production of fertilizer
has started along the right line, and the
materialization of the Government's plan is gradually coming into effect, although
it is still too early to be optimistic. In
this respect, Government authorities are resolved to get the amount planned at any
cost, although the quota itself night be
rather poor.
Quota of nitrogenous fertilizer from January to July (by crop classification, coverted
into ammonium sulphate), follows:
| Crop Area (Unit Cho) | Per Tan (Unit Kan) | Quota Allotted (Unit kilogram) | |
| Rice-plant | 2,906,305 | 2.0 | 217,973 |
| Vegetable | 230,830 | 1.5 | 12,984 |
| Sweet potato | 512,961 | 0.5 | 9,618 |
| Potato | 297,041 | 0.8 | 8,911 |
| Cereals | 286,840 | 0.5 | 5,378 |
| Fruit Tree | 102,901 | 1.0 | 3,859 |
| Mulberry | 180,000 | 2.0 | 13,500 |
| Tobacco | 25,000 | 3.0 | 2,813 |
| Hemp | 19,680 | 2.0 | 1,476 |
| Flax | 43,000 | 1.0 | 1,613 |
ECONOMIC SERIES: 186 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
| Crop Area (Unit Cho) | Per Tan (Unit Kan) | Quota Allotted (Unit Kilogram) | |
| Jute | 2,000 | 1.5 | 113 |
| Ramie | 4,046 | 4.0 | 607 |
| Cotton | 8,486 | 1.0 | 318 |
| Tea | 22,448 | 2.0 | 1,684 |
| Rush | 3,913 | 8.0 | 1,174 |
| Beet | 25,000 | 1.0 | 938 |
| Medicinal Herbs | 1,980 | 1.0 | 74 |
| Others | 13,608 | 1.0 | 510 |
| Total | 4,686,039 | 283,543 |
Remarks: Itemization of "Cereals" is as follows: Buckwheat, 99,845 cho; corn, 58,908
cho; German millet, 61,238 cho; barnyard
grass, 38,- 142 cho; millet, 25,107 cho; Indian millet (MOROKOSHI), 3,600 cho; KONNYAKU,
6,233 cho; peppermint, 4,076 cho;
hop, 617 cho; medicinal carrot, 434 cho; yellow Indian millet, (KIMOROKOSHI?), 2,448
cho.
ITEM 2 The Central Committee Meeting of the All Japan Labor Union Federation - Nippon Sangyo Keizai - 19 January 1946. Translator: K. Sato.
Full Translation:
The committee meeting of the nation-wide Labor Union was held at the KYOCHOKAIKAN,
SHIBAKU at 1300 of 17 January. Its aim is
to form a strong federation of labor unions throughout the country. About 60 representatives
were gathered together from
various parts of JAPAN to discuss the matter. KATSUOKA, Komakichi, acted as chairman,
and the following general plan was
decided on:
- 1.To organize a single labor union according to the kind of industry. To form a nation-wide federation of laborers.
- 2.To establish a joint meeting of unions in each prefecture.
- 3.To revive the regional conference.
- 4.To organize a representative council to make inquiries into the war responsibility of the ruling class.
The future activities of the Federation will be as follows:
- 1.To overthrow reactionary fascists' power.
- 2.To oppose the bourgeois party.
- 3.To combine the various democratic forces centered around the JAPAN Social Democratic Party.
Moreover, the political nature of the federation was clarified, making JAPAN Social
Democratic Party its center.
The aims of the campaign are: 1. The participation of the workmen in the control
and management of industry; 2. The
transference of business management to the labor unions; 3. The rise of wages in accordance
with the rise in prices; 4. The
abolition of the tax levied on the incomes of those who are engaged in heavy labor;
5. The establishment of counter -measures
against unemployment.
They adjourned the meeting at 1700, after discussing the question of the establishment
of the Labor Union Law, and appointing
MATSUOKA as
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ECONOMIC SERIES: 186 (Continued)
ITEM 2 (Continued)
the president of the Federation.
The "New Parties" Federation has been organized. It is said that the new political
parties that have sprung up, taking
advantage of the growing democratic spirit, are approximately 1,000 in number. The
comparatively powerful parties formed a
common front and named it "The Few Federation", on 18 January. They upheld the following
aims: 1. The overthrow of the old
regime; 2. The renovation of the Emperor system; 3. The public election of the prime
minister; 4. The democratization of
planned economy.
The chief secretary is YAMAMOTO of the Constitutional Youth Party (RIKKENSEINENTO).
ITEM 3 Surplus Metals Received From Allied Forces To Be Available - Nippon Sangyo Keizai - 19 January 1946. Translator: Z. Konishi.
Full Translation:
In view of the sudden decrease in lead and zinc production and the stoppage of bulk
imports of tin and antimony ores into
JAPAN, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has taken steps for the use of surplus
metals received from the Allied
Forces.
Previously, the Ministry had ordered the Metal Distribution Company (KINZOKU KAIKYU-KAISHA)
to make a detailed investigation
of these materials. According to the interim report on this investigation made by
the Special Material Management Section of
that Company (TO-KUSHU BUKKEN SHORI-BU), the total quantity of these metals was known
to be over 300,000 tons. This figure is
rather large compared with the official estimate, however.
The Ministry decided that these materials would be brought into the plan of the present
quarter, and preparations for this are
now being made. To ensure the smooth collection of this metal, the Ministry urged
those charged with its custody to take
special precautions.
The authorities want investigators and collectors of this metal to act as follows:
The procedure for investigation and
collection is different in each district. Collection should be done first. The allocation
of the metal is based on the
rationing plan of the Ministry. Irregularities are to be strictly avoided. Preferential
treatment will be offered by the
railway and other transport authorities.
ITEM 4 Revival of the Issue of Clothing Coupons - Tokyo Shimbun - 19 January 1946. Translator: T. Kitagawa.
Full Translation:
Up to date, only war sufferers and workers in specified industries have been entitled
to receive the cloth ration which was
released under permission given by General Headquarters. Since the Government suspended
the issue of coupons in 1945, and
since those issued in 1944 were worthless, it has been practically impossible for
the average person to procure clothes.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which has been studying the postwar productive
capacity of surviving textile
installations and materials, formed a general plan for the production of textile goods.
It has been decided to submit an
informal report, stating the program, on production and distribution of clothes to
General Headquarters for approval. This
would be done before the issue of clothing coupons takes place, and a final decision
will be reached after a conference which
is scheduled to be held in the Ministry. The cloth situation
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ECONOMIC SERIES: 186 (Continued)
ITEM 4 (Continued)
is very poor and so the final plan is hopefully awaited.
Particulars concerning coupons will be disclosed when the schedule for production
is set up.
ITEM 5 Property Increase Tax of the Three New Tax Bills by Watanabe, Kikuzo, Series No. 7 - Nippon Sangyo Keizai - 19 January- 1946. Translator: J. Okamura.
Summary:
- (1).Property Increase Tax: Those who have to pay the property increase tax under the new tax bill are designated as those having residences or who have lived for more than one year, or have properties, in territories where this law will be enacted.
- 2.
- (2).Taxable Properties: In the case of individuals, the property increase tax will be levied upon all properties which increased in value during the designated period. For foreigners who have no Japanese citizenship, the property Increase tax will be levied only upon the increased value of properties, located in territories where this law is enacted, at the time of the property investigation.
- (3).Appraisal of Taxable Properties: The increased properties for taxation are designated to be the balance between the appraised amounts at the time of property investigation end that on 1 April 1940. On either dates, debts will be subtracted from property appraisal. The reason why the Government sets 1 April 1940 as the date for starting calculation is that on that day, the present income tax and corporation tax bills were enacted. Revenue offices have records or documents on properties owned by individuals as well as by corporations. The directive of the Supreme Command, dated 24 November 1945, suggested that the Government should trace back, as far as possible, disregarding the date of the PEARL HARBOR attack. The Japanese Government has no records of taxable properties prior to the newly-fixed date.
If the tax payers are not in the designated places on that day, the appraisal of
their properties will be made for the date
when they settled at their present address. If debts exceeded properties on 1 April
1940, such properties will be regarded as
zero, and the tax will be levied upon the increased value since that date.
As in the case of the property tax, the property increase tax will also be levied
upon the amount of properties owned by
individual household heads and other family members as a whole. Consequently, if the
property of a member of a family has
decreased in value at the time of investigation, his minus amount will be subtracted,
from other members' properties. For
instance, if the father's property increased from 200,000 yen to 500,000 yen, while
his son's property decreased from 100,000
to 80,000 yen, the property increase of the father will be calculated at 280,000 yen,
since the shortage of 20,000 yen of his
son will be subtracted from the father's property. In the case of foreigners, whose
properties have been transferred from
territories where this law is not in effect to the affected territories, or vice versa,
the appraisal will be conducted
according to provisions to be promulgated by the Government at a later date.
The appraisal of properties for the property increase tax will be conducted in the
same way as in the case of the property
tax, and provisions promulgated in the property tax bill will be applied in the property
increase tax. Therefore, furniture
cooking utensils, and clothing, which are vital for daily life, will be exempted from
the property increase tax, as in the
case of the property tax.
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ECONOMIC SERIES: 186 (Continued)
ITEM 5 (Continued)
Properties inherited between 1 April 1940 and the date or the property investigation,
will be regarded as those owned by
inheritors, in the appraisal of properties on 1 April 1940.
How to calculate the increased values will be decided later, but it is generally
anticipated that the properties contributed
or awarded will be regarded as being owned since 1 April 1940, by those who have received
these properties. In such cases,
devisors or contributors will take joint responsibilities for the parent of the property
increase tax with devisees or those,
who received such contributions.
DISTRIBUTION: "X"
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