Press translations [Japan]. Editorial Series 0215, 1946-01-10.

Summary:

There were no definite statements made about when the general Election will he announced. It was once said that it would be made late in December, so although the electors are much more occupied in sustaining their livelihood, they are very interested and curious. In this election many of the former members who were at a disadvantage should be successful candidates.

The establishment of a new JAPAN can never be realized with members who cannot even feel their own responsibility for this war. Our Government is opposing the re-election of present members, and we have seen that a warning has already been given by SCAP.

If the members are not going to decide directly for themselves as to the responsibility, the best way is to ask SCAP to issue a members' "black list". That cannot be done now, however, for there are many to be blamed among the candidates as well as the members. War responsibilities really should be adjudged by the people them- selves; but, on the other hand, they, too, ought to be much more vigorous. Therefore, the Government the political parties, and the people must reflect for themselves and then face the election.

what difficulty faces the country at present concerning this general election? First, shortage of coal, which makes transportation hopeless. It is said that 20 passes for bus end railway fare will be issued for each candidate. Nevertheless, it is certain that some are going to take advantage, of this for illicit dealing.

Second, we have to mobilize the people for the election and for this, food is a primary consideration, Naturally, however, food is going to be used for black marketing and its possession may become the outpost battle of the election. In a time of such shortages we must not cause any more trouble.

Third, the expenses. Although there is a way to keep down election expenses, a great amount of money is sure to be expended.

Fourth, the short preliminary period. The Communist Party has already asked for an extension of the time. We believe there are many others who desire the same.

The foregoing examples are only a few of the many difficulties that a successful election will meet with. Therefore, in order to hold the general election under such bad conditions, we must make up for the sacrifice by electing suitable members for the new JAPAN. Since people have opened their eyes and realized the tardiness of the announcement, they should be able to see the nation's true condition and make this election a significant one.

EDITORIAL SERIES: 215 (Continued)

Full Transition:

The directives issued by the Allied supreme Headquarters, ordering the dissolution of various militaristic or aggressive organizations and barring from public office all war leaders, had a great effect upon each stratum of society. In particular, the Government, and each political part, were obliged to give up the temporizing and hyporritical attitude which they had maintained until now. The contents of the new directives concided on the "hole, with what the Ration desired. We hoped that such an action would be taken by the Government itself, but to our reget, it was not executed, as in other cases, until the Allied Headquarter issued the order. However, we can now expect truly democratic end open politics, for the pseudo-democrats and the war loaders, who merely "re-painted their signboards", will be swept out of the Government, political parties, and public office.

Of course, among the members to be expelled from public office there may be some war leaders who had been forced into such a position. Yet they themselves will think their exclusion just, for this is a necessary procedure, in order to ecpel the unscrupulous elements who cling to their positions.

It is still not quite clear who will be barred from public office, but it is certain that the order win be widely applied to members of the Cabinet, Home Ministry, and other Ministries. The schedule of the coming election will be completely disorganized for the progressive Party and other parties. Their subordinate organizations will also have to be completely re-established. We must urge, and see to it, that such re-establishment be carried out effectively and speedily.

Those who were singled out by the directives this time are, so to speak, the "fist class" war leaders, and do not include all those whom the Nation demands should be excluded from public office. The "second" or "third class" war leaders still remain in the same positions as in wartime, in government offices and public organizations. It is a well-known fact that the assistant officials (HANNIN -KAN Class) in the central office did much in prosecuting the war end oppressing the people. The situation is exactly the same in the povincial offices or the local public organizations. They are more degenerate than the top war leader to whom the directives will be applied. Many of them, taking advantage of the war, attempted to increase their power or make profits. The democratization of Agriculture Association was ordeed by formerdirectives of the Allied Headquarters, yet there still remain in town assemblies, various controlling organizations and many privileged element who actually ought to have been expelled.

In conjunction with the exclusion of the "first class" war leaders, we, the people, must exclude the second and lower class war leaders who are not included in the current directives. Allied Headquarters may be preparing other measures to deal with this, but we must do it by ourselves. These men ought to have retired from their positions voluntarily, but we cannot expect them to do so, since they have not done so up to the present. The only way left is for the Nation itself to remove them. We must show our complete lack of confidence in them, and demand their retirement. It will also furnish us with a good opportunity of training for end understanding democratic politics, for we have been lacking in political training, particularly as political discussion was suppressed during the war.

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EDITORIAL SERIES: 215 (Continued)

ITEM 2 (continued)

Many of the People are indifferent to the coming general election, the significance of which is great. This is not justifiable. We must rouse their political consciousness. As pointed out by Allied Headquarters, we ourselves must deal with the war leaders who oppressed the Nation.

Full Translation:

As a measure to check current inflation, I propose a movement to return 10 percent of all bonds to the Government. TO put this into practice, war bends which were issued since the outbreak of the Manchuria Incident, will be frozen for a fixed period. The bond owners should submit reports of their bonds to the Government, together with a report of their national bond deposits through their neighborhood associations or their offices. The Government will not be responsible for redemption of bonds which are not registered in this way. Then, 10 per cent of these bonds will be retuned to the Government, which will collect the bonds, and after having made the proper records, will burn them. In order to carry out this movement effectively, appropriately, and promptly, the first move should be directed at the financial combines, banks, insurance companies, and former munitions companies. It is obvious that inthis way serious inflationcan be averted, and the remaining 90 per cent of the national bonds can be made available to the public. A moratorium in dividends for one or two periods will be enough to cover the resulting loss. There can be no opposition among the persons concerned, if they have any financial sense at all.

Moreover, this should be executed as soon as possible, when the national bonds reach a total of 150,000,000,000 yen, 15,000,000,000 yen of capital will be returned to the Government. There may be no need to raise, new bonds for payment of interest on capital. (SAITAMA, KOMATSU, Junosuke —- Butter producing Association)

Now that our national economy faces an unprecedented crisis, it is a matter of curse that we must have taxes. However, existing taxes are too heavy for the earning class. In addition, black market dealings are becoming more and more serious. We honest workers are literally on the [illegible]of collapse. I hope that the Government will raise exemptions as promptly as possible, and correct the unfairness of the tax burden. The Government should collect taxes from the black marketeers, who are making enrmous and illegal incomes, and from some of the scoundrels in farm-villages. (NIIGATA - TAMURA, Chihiro —- government official)

The salaried class of today can hardly subsist. The Government has increased wages. However, such an advance in nominal wages will give very little aid to the salaried classes. Naturally, the higher the purchasing power, the higher the prices. I suspect that the Government authorities intend to run a race with prices by taking the easier way of increases in salary.

I am now unemployed. I am living humbly since I feel it only my duty as a citizen to endure hardships in this unprecedented situation. There may be some appropriate and effective measures to be taken by the Government in order to cope with those problems of distribution and production increase, which our nation needs most urgently right now. Instead, the Government, through this policy, seems intent on endangering our national economy by the removal of all restrictions which have been imposed so far.

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EDITORIAL SERIES: 215 (Continued)

ITEM 3 (Continued)

This is only because of the fact that our administration is composed of the wealthy class. The high salaried class should be barred from increases or be reduced in salary. That the government has done nothing about this is evidence of their lack of recognition of the people's problems. (TOKYO. MIYANAGA, Shinichi, unemployed).

Many bank-notes were issued recently, but most of them are 100, 200, 500, and 1000 yen notes, while the small notes are very few. A good example of this is to be found among the long lines of people, who wait their turn to buy tickets in front of every station in the country. Almost all of them present five or ten yen-notes, in buying one or two yen tickets. The ticket clerks have to collect 50 sen banknotes and count them twice, before they hand over the change to the travellers. Another example is to be found in the sale of goods supplied through the neighborhood associations or in the sale of general items. Making change is a very difficult task. To cope with this, I think small banknotes should be issued in greater quantity then ever. For example, if there we[illegible]two end a half yen bank notes, two notes would equal five yen, end four notes would equal 10 yen. Thus, even numbers and odds numbers in change can be made. I hope that the authorities will issue small banknotes rather then those of 500 or 1000 yen values. (TOKYO. ITO, Heizo).

Full Translation:

It is needless to stress how important is the subject of education in present day JAPAN. But, at this moment, what are the educational authorities doing?

Since the MEIJI Era, the Education Ministry has compiled textbooks exclusively and has enforced their use upon the Nation. Their contents and how they inpeded human progress are known all over the world. They even reached out in their influence to middle schools. These books are now being successfully rewritten by the hands of world civilization and the same can be said of the singular "Duty of a Subject" and "Original Meaning of the Motional Constitution," which they edited. Do they feel an iota of responsibility for them? Was it not they who, when the works of university professors were suppressed, dismissed them, calling to account the writers' responsibility?

without taking the responsibility for wartime textbooks, they are again "whole-hearted by compiling quite new text books." Do they not know what is meant by shame and responsibility? I understand that they, endowed with such peculiar brains, are again compiling some queer material "in order to alter the teachers' minds."

There is no reason why the whole country should use the same textbooks. One cannot find such an example in any other part of the world. Who is responsible for the measures that turned the awakening minds and growing bodies of young students to militalism and plutocracy and brought about an astonishing decline in their scholarship?

Is it not queer that they, paying no attention to these facts, should poke their noses into the problems of students and education who was it who declared, "I do not much care that students in their position should participate in the should administration," and, as a result, was severely criticized by Mr. HANI, Goro, and the members of the students' Federation? Instead of

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EDITORIAL SERIES: 215 (Continued)

ITEM 4 (continued)

turning a deaf ear to them, why could he not return a single word against them?

At present, no one believes that they, with such dreadful brains and brazen attitudes, should be qualified to intervene in the sacred mission of education, I propose they should give up influencing and provoking leaders, Do they perceive there are innumerable things that they must do? Militarism, to which they devoted their body and souls, proved to be the greatest dissipator of the Budget. Do they not realize that now is the time to brave coventions and to alter the fact that the Japanese Government is the greatest miser in the world with regard to education? In 1940, the educational allotment was 3.8 per cent of the total Budget and eight per cent of the war expenditure.

SOVIET BUSSIA, in 1944, in the midst of a hard war, made a concessionof 48 per cent of the Budget for education, apart from the expenses of schools paid by each republic. If they have the right intentions, they can save the teachers from their wretched life and keen them from the black market or other more dubious means of livelihood. Furthermore, they should give them enough spare time for free study. They can even guarantee the democratization of our education with a concrete institution, by defraying the educational expenses out of the national Treasury. Let me repeat this admonition. Stop influencing the "Leaders", if they feel themselves incompetent, I seriously propose they dissolve the Education Department, and go to mental institutions or to war criminal prisons. Just as in the care of the militarist party and Special Police, if the surveillance of the Education Department were discotined, the education of JAPAN would be far more admirably advanced by the hands of the people.

(Letter from a central executive conmmittee of All NIPPON Educational Association, MONOBE, Nagaoki).

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