Press translations [Japan]. Editorial Series 0083, 1945-11-12.

Summary:

A winter of heavy snow has come to NAGAOKA City. To the misfortunes of war, suffered by NAGAOKA citizens, are added cold and fatigue.

People of some families have only one blanket to keep themselves from freezing. The Government, however, has not yet succeeded in effecting a relief policy for the war victims. These citizens did not willingly invite war victims but became sacrifices for all of us. Therefore, they are in a different category from those afflicted by earthquakes or conflagrations in peace time.

In the past people have expressed their sympathy and brotherhood at the misfortunes of an earthquake or a conflagration in even a small town or village, but we can not afford to think of others on account of poverty in our own lives. This is not necessarily egotism or selfishness, judging from present world conditions. However, we cannot leave these sufferers to die from hunger and cold just because of the above-mentioned reason.

It is reported that the prefectural government has given the materials, which had been reserved for the war victims, to the afflicted citizens of NAGAOKA before the war ended. The sufferers were thankful for this, of course, but the amount distributed was very little in comparison with the number of sufferers. Look at those in NAGAOKA City! The dwellings of the sufferers are now trembling with cold. There are many sufferers who do not even have one mat. On the other hand, prices of necessities at stores of non-sufferers are twice as high as those in NIIGATA-Shi. The sufferers at NAGAOKA are now preparing for winter in the characteristic courageous spirit of NAGAOKA, but in vain.

It is not considered that just now the prefectural population of 2,500,000 has neither moral nor material aid to give, not only to the 50,000 prefectural sufferers, but also all the 200,000 war victims, air raid refugees, living in this prefecture. We do not mean that the war victims should rebuild their lives by depending upon others. Now is the time to show the true spirit of NAGAOKA citizen, but it must be understood that we are not able to protect these miserable victims from the hardships to come. For this reason we want to initiate an active movement to aid these victims. Moreover, we must also strive for action in order that these sufferers may not endure the hardships of unemployment in addition to their other troubles.

EDITORIAL SERIES: 83 (Continued)

Summary:

We marvel that the existing political parties, especially the Progressives, are so absorbed in discussions concerning the next cabinet following the forthcoming general election that they are more interested in a cabinet change than in the pressing problems of the nation's life. This lamentable tendency of the Progressives may be due to peculiar conditions within that party. The Progressive Party comprising so many miscellaneous elements is in disorder. The Progressive Party in this Diet session is motivated by its desire to hold absolute majority control despite many internal faults. Moreover, that party is ambitious to continue in its position as the controlling party even after the general election.

This is the reason why the Progressive Party is in opposition to the attitude of the present Cabinet to be followed after the general election. It is a question, of course, of whether the Progressive Party will be the majority after the election. But even if the Party proves to be the most influencial, it may still fail to demonstrate the merit of its majority because it has no real loader at present.

There is every reason to believe that the cabinet following the coming general election will prove to be the first cabinet of a new democratic JAPAN. The political parties today are, therefore, all the more expected to do their utmost unless we should need to institute a new organization to recommend new cabinets to the Throne at the time of a political crises.

In spite of the strenuous efforts of Government to stamp out inflation, such as, devaluation of currency, freezing of bank deposits and of new type paper money issues, dreadful inflation is spreading all over Europe. Acute shortages of food, the black markets and soaring prices are well representative of present-day EUROPE. Today's situation in JAPAN does not allow us to be indifferent to such indications. There exists a similarity between conditions in JAPAN and those in EUROPE, namely, complete destruction of industries and subsequent poor supply of commodities. This accounts for the present difficulties in JAPAN and in EUROPE. The most urgent matter today is, therefore, to resume production of daily necessities. To this end, a complete production plan must be drafted. Powerful political steps should be taken to effect a plan.

The Government is planning a five year public works project to curb unemployment. We wonder why the Government is not taking moans to increase production of goods. The projected five year public works project may be welcomed, but at least 400,000,000 yen out of the budget for that public works project should be set aside to encourage production. In line with the production plan, the present channels of distribution should he investigated. We insist that the authorities should waste no time in instituting consumer guilds on a regional basis in order to connect consumption with production. In this regard, HIGASHI IWASE of TOYAMA-Shi, offers us a good suggestion. In that area, the formation of consumer guilds invited a more abundant supply of goods and successfully solved the price problem by amicable agreements between consumers and producers. In our future economic policy, production and distribution should be set apart from prices. With satisfactory production and fair distribution, restoration of normal price levels can be realized.

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EDITORIAL SERIES: 83 (Continued)

Full translation:

The fundamental policy of the Government for the restoration of the nation's finances to normal peacetime conditions has been attracting much public attention because it is important not only in postwar management but also in its general suggestions. The policy was finally announced when Finance Minister SHIBUZAWA presented a Five Year Financial Plan to begin this next fiscal year before the plenary session of the Lower House Budget Committee on Wednesday. According to this plan, the skeleton budget for the 1946-1947 fiscal year shows a decrease of 5,700,000,000 yen in revenue and a remarkable decrease of 15,300,000,000 yen in expenses, making a final deficit of 1,600,000,000 yen. The 1948-1949 skeleton budget shows a small surplus, after the deficient 1947-1948 fiscal year. It is, of course, difficult to expect the present Cabinet to restore a sound finance immediately during the next fiscal year, since the Cabinet is suffering from such difficulties as a food shortage, collapsed production, scanty materials and minimum foreign trade. But we shall present a few arguments with regard to the published plan.

First, the Government should recognize the importance of its financial policies, as the guiding principle of the financial groups, since the national economy seems to have come into the firs t stage of vicious inflation with multitudes drowning in an overflow of bank notes. The Government should also show a decisive attitude for the restoration of sound finance by, first of all, reducing its expenditures. Under the present situation, a sudden change to a deflation policy on the part of the nation's finance will not result in general disorder but will favorably influence financial circles. After two or three years, when there will be an increase of revenue with the revival of economy on the one hand, and an increase of repatriates giving rise to more unemployment on the other, the Government should be more generous for the relief of the unemployed and other social works. This reduction first policy will meet with more difficulties and will need much more political power than the present gradual policy. Nevertheless, we are very disappointed at the compromising attitude of the Government.

Second, the decrease of expenses from 15,700,000,000 yen for the current fiscal year to 13,670,000,000 yen for the next fiscal year is only a natural result of the end of the war. The decrease is composed, for the most part, of decreases in special expenses such as the extraordinary military expenditures, the reserve fund, pensions, relief for servicemen, etc. As to general expenses, the plan aims at a reduction of about 3,000,000,000 yen in subsidies. Nevertheless, the decrease in price differential subsidies is a natural result of the stoppage of munitions' production. Further, subsidies for government subsidized corporations, which should have been abolished altogether, have only been reduced in sum. As is clear from the above, the published plan is a simple arrangement of natural increases and decreases after the war and shows no efforts for sound finance.

Third, decisive measures should be taken to relieve the treasury of the burden of interest payments. The sum of payments of interest on national bonds, including 1,700,000,000 yen interest on an estimated 46,400,000,000 yen of indemnities in Government contracts, amounts to 5,700,000,000 yen which is about half of the total expenses for the

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EDITORIAL SERIES: 83 (Continued)

ITEM 3 (Continued)

next fiscal year. Any retrenchment in general expenses will not make for the recovering of sound finances without solving this problem. Of course, the solution needs new legislative steps, and the plan shows clearly the necessity for taking such steps.

Finally, the plan omits many important items. Expenditures, reparations, occupation expenses, expenses for increased production of food, costs of rehabilitation and expenses for relief of the unemployed are excluded. On the other hand, the revenue items in the plan exclude revenue from the war profits' tax and the capital levy estimated at 100,000,000,000 yen, general increases in taxes and increased prices of tobacco. In reality, these omitted items hold a large proportion in the budget. It is only in the general budget and nor for the whole of finance that the Government aims at soundness. Some of these unestimated items are out of the jurisdiction of the Finance Minister; nevertheless, internal expenses, at least, should be dealt with more decisively by the Minister.

The above arguments on our part are founded on the presumption that no emergency will arise and the plan should coincide with the financial policies of the Governments throughout the coming three years. The SHIDEHARA Cabinet is doomed. Even if no emergency arises, we shall have many cabinets. Can we expect all future cabinets to stick to the financial policy of the present Cabinet? We want to have a guarantee of consistency in the financial policies of the cabinets.

Full translation:

Who could be indifferent to the fact that today is the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of the war? The attack on the PEARL HARBOR took the UNITED STATES by surprise, but it was also a tremendous surprise to most of the Japanese. It was a double edged sword which, while striking the UNITED STATES on one hand, also aimed a final blow at remaining democratic elements in JAPAN. America soon recovered from her wounds, but those of JAPAN have been aggravated into septicemia. And it is the tragedy of JAPAN that groaning under this grievous disease, she must search out the assailant and take him to the tribunal.

With the approach of 8 December, an order was issued by Allied Headquarters to arrest nine war suspects, among whom were Prince KONOE and Marquis KIDO. The SHIDEHARA Cabinet, which was given life by these two men, will now be forced to walk on its own feet.

Prince KONOE, as is shown by his career, may prove a different kind of politician. When young, he attracted general attention by publishing a translation of Oscar WILDE's "On Socialism" in the once-famous literary magazine, "New Trends of Thought". Influenced by the theories of Dr. SASAKI, Dr. KAWAKAMI and Dr. NISHIDA during his school life, he wrote "The Upper House and Politics", which was published toward the end of the TAISHO Era. The book ends with the words,

"Thus the curtain falls before the stage on which the tragedy of the reduction of privileges of the English House of Peers, has ended, leaving its future reorganization to be considered a function of parliamentary law.

Prince KONOE might have kept his seat as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, instead of being appointed Premier three times. This would have been far more suitable to his talents.

DISTRIBUTION "X"

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EDITORIAL SERIES: 83 (Continued)

ERRATA:

Press Translation SOCLAL SERIES: 58, dated 5 Dec 1945 should read EDTIORLAL SERIES: 58, dated 5 Dec 1945.