Press translations [Japan]. Editorial Series 0242, 1946-01-14.

Full Translation:

I felt sorry to read the news that TSUCHIYA was sentenced to penal servitude for life. The principle of Japanese military training was to moult soldiers in one and the same type and to sqeeze in by force those who protruded from the moult. Needless to say they ignored individual personality. The surest policy for the soldiers was to act exactly upon orders of their superiors and positive action proved to be desadvantageous. In this way, they were made uncivilized and barbarous. I often hear people say that they cannot help envying the brightness andunrestrained manner of the American soldiers, cornpaired with that of the Japanese Army in the past. However, when we further presume that if the Japanese Army had admitted individual personality and freedom as in AMERICA, there would be no knowing what might happen. This proves how low the state of Japanese civilization is.

Liberalism is fine. Neverthless take care, for if you should give rights to people with such low-standards they would abuse them. Before we claim rights, we Japanese must, first of all, cultivate and improve ourselves still more.

(Letter from SUZUKI, Juichi of NAGANO unemployed.)

I was indefinably moved in reading an article reporting the life sentence given to TSUCHIYA. During the war, with the aim of destroying the United States and BRITAIN, the atrocities and tyranny of the American soldiers were propagandized, and our feeling of hostility was stirred to the utmost. Only because he, unfortunately was in service in the prisoners' camp, he must share his fortune with the defeat in war and come to such a miserable end.

I imagine his haggard figure. In a dark prison, a crowd of emotions should be wakened in his breast, thinking of his parents, recalling wife and children. I demand the responsibility of the war leaders in JAPAN be exposed.

(TOKYO HASEGAWA, Masako, a war sufferer)

Be the results of .justice concerning TSUCHIYA's case what they may, what do those who have experienced Japanese military life think? I, myself was in the military for two years. Never a day passed without having them oppress the soldiers by means of force and violence. Innumerable kinds of violence were wielded in their system in the strangest ways.

For instance there were the military spirit infusing clubs, "the jaw", the electric bath, "the bicycle", mutual slapping etc. How many Japanese officers, without the smallest sting of conscience, deliberately inflicted atrocities upon the Japanese soldiers in TSUCHIYA's manner? If they were placed in TSUCHIYA's situation, how many of them could swear that they had never exercised brutal force. The point

EDITORIAL SERIES: 242 (Continued)

ITEM 1 (Continued)

is that what was long justified among them proved to be a capital crime according to the point of view of human judgment. They ought to be horrified at the reality and regain their forgotten consciences.

(RIKO, Matsuo, TOKYO - demobilized serviceman)

Full Translation:

Self-confidence and tenacity are indispensable conditions in accomplishing a task for a politician as well as an ordinary man. In this sense, Prime Minister SHIDEEARA is truly a politician.

However, since his cabinet received the sweeping directives of MacAPTHUR on 4 January, he has been ill for eight days; on the other hand his cabinet ministers have also idled away their time. And now they have decided to tide ever the situation by the reorganization of the cabinet, against public opinion which demands their resignation en bloc. It may safely be said that Prime Minister SHIDEHARA is an excellent showman, as far as brazeness goes, but he is behind the times. When he was appointed ambassador plenipotentiary to a former Washington conference, he attended the conference notwithstanding his fever, paying no heed to his doctor's advice. He had occupied the post of Foreign Minister five times in the KATO, WAKATSUKI and HAMAGUCHI cabinets. And he had not joined any political parties, against an unwritten law at that time that a cabinet minister should be a party man. Consequently, he was thought by his supporters as well as the opposition as a traitor to constitutionalism. But he has taken it to heart. The proceedings in the 59th session of the Diet were brought to a standstill for ten days by his slip of the tongue concerning the problem of ratification of the LONDON Treaty. However, he was so tenacious that he tided ever the situation at the last moment by cancelling his slip.

Now, we have no means of knowing where his resolution to tide over the present difficulty by the reorganization of his cabinet has come from. But his self-confidence, which is against public opinion, is remarkable. On the other hand, judging from his nature and career, it cannot be denied that his way of thinking is due to bureaucratic self-satisfaction, and that he has foregotten the existence of public opinion by standing aloof from the people. An admirable example is that SHIDEHARA attended the conference notwithstanding his fever. His confidence, which persisted to the end based or the infallibility of his own diplomacy, hit the eye.

However if he has thought that his self-confidence and tenacity in the past can now be applied to the interests of the defeated nation, he may also lose a boat like a boatman who forgets to steer his boat in obedience to the ebb and flow of the tide.

Full Translation:

Some days ago, when a dialogue debate was held by several political parties, Mr. SHIGA, Yoshio, argued about the Emperor system. His speech was interrupted by catcalls and roars. There was one conspicuous man among the audience who disturbed him. He carried a stick, and

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EDITORIAL SERIES: 242 (Continued)

ITEM 3 (Continued)

possessing a little eminence, he seemed a leader of the mob. Moreover, he cried repeatedly, "I am YASUDA, Takeo, of the JAPAN Democratic Party. Anyone may argue with me!" He well acted his part of disturber.

One evening in January, I stood at a street stall in front of the UENO Station to buy sardines. Under a cold sky, two women who looked to be mother and daughter, were calling out their wares to pedestreans. I could judge from their attitudes that they were very destitute and were forced to become street-traders. A man came by and pressed them, "Give me your admission money. It's five yen." The daughter replied, "We paid it about three o'clock." So thrusting out his lantern, he said defiantly, "You must pay it again for the period from six O'clock to the same time tomorrow morning." The man got the money and moved on to the next stall. The sign, "Cherry Party", was written on his lantern. Judging from the nember of street stalls, the party's illicit income must amount to several thousand yen a day. Such feudalistic extortion and plunder are still going on openly. The police authorities, it is said are overlooking it.

The Cherry Party, as Mr. KAZAHAYA, Yasoji, disclosed in this paper, is very closely bound to the JAPAN Democratic Party. This Party's finance is based upon feudalistic and open plunder of the street stalls, and is the backing for such JAPAN Democratic Party's bosses as YASUDA, Takeo, SHIRAISHI, Kiyoshi and others.

Now, in connection with the Supreme Headquarters' directives, we must thoroughly wipe out such disguised democrats, or our democratic revolution will shortly face a great crisis.

(NAKAMURA, Shintaro)

Our neighborhood association system derives from a five-person unit system of feudal times. That is, in the days of feudalism, TOKUGAWA founded the system to support his own ruling position. The present system in effect from the CHINA Affairs to the end of this war a supervising organization for watching or checking the Nation's anti-war thought. It was a structure used as a means for leading our Nation into the war, and was very annoying to us. The war ended. Accordingly, such a system that had bothered the Nation should be dispelled as quickly as possible. There are leaders or officers of the neighborhood associations who cannot understand what democracy is or what freedom of speech is. Furthermore, there are, among them, egotistic and worthless persons who usurped goods or charcoal or cut down the trees in war-damaged dress, or are making a fortune, if their houses were not damaged by air raids, by concealing a large quantity of charcoal in defiance of the acute shortage of fuels.

The system should repidly be abolished. Our Nation had been persuaded by the Government to forgo all difficulties till the day of victory, and we perseveringly did our duty. The system is convenient to only the Government and the merchants, and is very bothersome to the general public. Being chained to the system, we are very uncomfortable mentally and economically, and, moreover, when any goods are distributed, we have to waste much time at neighbor-hood stores. Our feelings con but be irritated.

Now we have enough labor, because there are a large number of demobilized servicemen who are unemployed. Therefore, the neighborhood distributive stores must increase workers to realize a delivery system as quickly as possible. The housekeepers' bothersome labor

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ITEM 3 (Continued)

must be relieved. The war ended. JAPAN is now approaching the sunny side of spring, for a literal society is going to appear. Our Nation must correct our national defects by public opinion in order to establish a new JAPAN. We should not drop behind the world's civilization. Accordingly, we cry here, "Instantly abolish our neighborhood association system."

(HIRABAYASHI, Tamigoro)

Full Translation:

The National Railways are planning to increase railway fares from March by two and a half times for passengers and by three times for freight. The reasons given for this are manifold, such as the reconstruction and promotion of various establishments, the increase of transportation capacity, and an improvement in the treatment of the employees. This is obviously based on misconceptions, when one considers the present situation.

Railway fares necessarily have a direct and serious bearing on every sphere of national economy, and its change produces a direct effect on production costs. Such a project is to be allowed only after prudent deliberation. At any rate an increase by twice or three times should by no means be pardonable.

Some people may think that in view of general high prices, railway fares cannot be an exception. To be sure, such articles as we need once or twice in our life will, by an increase in prices, produce little or no effect upon the consumers' economy, much less on the national economy. Railways, in contrast, are of vital significance to every economic activity. Smoking or drinking has no vital bearing on our subsistence, although there are some people who complain of the change in their prices. We can do without these luxuries if there be an increase in prices. According to circumstances, therefore, boost in prices can be attempted on such luxuries. In this respect, the Government is incomprehensiblly timid. It is wondered why the general public is likewise more concerned about this problem than about that of the railways. We need not dwell upon the vital importance of public conveyances. To prove this fact, an incident can be mentioned regarding in TOKYO Municipal street car affairs some 40 years ago. Communists at that time, as a means of opposing the boost in fares, attempted to lead the people at large in a boycott against riding in streetcars. This resulted in utter failure because of the vital importance of public conveyances.

Few people who have special business can afford to walk, and even the average person cannot do without them. Otherwise, waste of energy, which leads to a great loss involving the whole ration, would be enevitable. Thus, because of the singular character of railways, increased charges cannot be imposed upon the general public. On this account, a casual decision made by the railway authorities upon such an important matter shows their inconsistency and low standard in economic ideas. From now on such important affairs should be decided on with the approval of the Diet. Such things should also be decided upon conditionally, and should revert to the former rates when economic stabilization is realized.

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