Press translations [Japan]. Political Series 0154, 1946-01-07.

Full Translation:

The bureaucratic circles that constituted the nucleus of the so-called bureaucratic Government for a long time have miserably collapsed before the sweeping gale of the the directives issued by SCAP, ordering the dismissal of Government Officials responsible for the war. Universal dismissal of the special high police officials, which was executed on the basis of the memorandum concerning the abolition of the political police system, was very drastic, considering the vast extent of its influence. But the scope of dismissals was restricted to the chiefs of provincial police departments, and others, so that the police of the Home Office were not greatly affected.

The present directive includes all who were provincial Governors between April 1941 and June 1945. They were all heads of the prefectural branches of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, numbering over 130, among whom are included the present top officials of the Home Office and half the present provincial governors.

Thus the leading part of the active and reserve officials of the home Ministry is to be swept out, to be replaced by the public election of governors. The bureaucratic clique of the Home Office, which has long been influential in the Government, is meeting with difficulties, The Home Minister, Vice-Minister, Chiefs of Bureaus, and half the number of Governors are included.

The directive for dismissal of Government officials, which was issued by General MacARTHUR's Headquarters, includes all the officials, managers, chief secretaries, and the highest staffs of all branches of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, This means the complete dismissal of the majority of officials in the main office of the Home Ministry as well as in the prefectural offices under its supervision. The extent of the dismissal is as follows:

Home Office: Home minister HORIKI[illegible]I, who was general manager of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association; Home Vice-minister SAKA who was chief of its provincial branch; KOIZUMI, Chief of the Peace Bureau; OSHIMA, Chief of the Superintendent's Bureau.

Governors: MOCHINAGA of HOKKAIDO, who was Chief of its provincial branch; ARAI of OSAKA: FUJIWARA of KANAGWA: SAITO of HYOGO: NAGANO of NAGASAKI; HATADA of NIIGAUA; TAKAHASHI of GUMMA; OIZUMI of CHIBA; SOMA of TOCHIGI; ODA of NARA; KOBAYASHI of MIE; FUKUMOTO of ACHI; HTAA of SHIZUAKA; MIYATA of TWATE; KANAI of AOMORI; MIYATA of FUKUI; ITO of SHIMANE; AZUMI of OKAYAMA; OKAMOTO of YAMAGUCHI ; OKADA [illegible]TOKUSHIMA; TANAKA of KAGAWA: SOGA of FUKUKA; and HIRAI of KUMAMOTO, 23

POLITICAL SERIES: 154 (Continued)

ITEM 1 (Continued)

Governors in all.

Also to be dismissed are TAKAKO, Chief of the metropolitan Police Board; tile assistant heads of towns and villages of TOKYO;SHIGETA, Chief of the People's Welfare Bureau; NAKAJIMA, Chief of the Planning Bureau; TOMOSUE of IBARAGI, Prefectural Governor; NAGANO of KOCHI, Prefectural Governor, the last mentioned two being, formerly Chiefs of the main office of the Association; and TATEBAYASHI, Chief of the Educational Bureau of TOKYO Prefecture, who was once Chief of the Main office of the Young men's Imperial Rule Assistance Association.

Full Translation:

The two important directives issued by General Headquarters, by which public service of militarists is prohibited, and militarists and all those who cooperated with them are swept out of the political world, have been given in order co clean up Japanese politics and, at the[illegible]reform various administrative organs of the Government. Generally speaking, Japanese administrative organs have been notoriously feudalistic and bureaucratic, and have had an enormous number of officials. They have ruled the people and have been a heavy weight on the Nation. They were sometimes used as the tools of parties and sometimes worked together with the militarists. They took up the phrase ''bureausra[illegible]p[illegible]and persecuted the people, interfering; with their political, economic and social life. Such facts can never be forgotten. It is said that bureaucratic politics can be more tyranical than the rule of the Russian Tsars.

These enormous administrative organs are on the point of being upset by the directives of the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Forces. The bureaucracy has oppressed the people with a heavy hand. It goes without saying that these administrative organs include those of various local districts, as well as the Home Office, which is the center of police politics.

It is natural that the directives should be aimed at bureaucracy. Under the directives, our Nation must thoroughly investigate feudalistic, reactionary buraaucrats. Furthermore it is important that our Nation remove feudalistic reactionary, govermental officials and militarists and those who work as their tools in the law courts, the Department of Justice, prosecutor's offices. During the war, the Department of Justice was a den of reaction, and was called a "Judicial Fascist Office". The Procurator's Offices suppressed communistic activities, as well as those of the socialists, progressive and liberalist. Such people were arrested, on any pretext; progressive, cultural activities were forbidden. Many scandals disturbed the political world, invlolving militarist and fascist groups. Every person knows that the bureaucrats furthered the political desires of militarist and fascist cliques. It is also clear that the Department of Education assumed the title of "The Office of Education", and was the father of reactionary military [illegible]cation.

In addition to the governmental officials who compiled the text books of Japanese history and state text books, all officials who held positions higher than that of Chokunin rank must be removed. The people must be careful to prevent them from entering into civil life, apart from their present professions.

- 2 -

POLITICAL SERIES: 154 (Continued)

ITEM 2 The removal of militarists, along with the Justice Office and the Department of Education, will sweep away feudalism and militarism from the administrative agencies. The present directives can not be wholly realized until these offices are democratized. However, it is obvious that the present Cabinet can not carry out such an important move. A Government, representing, the whole will of the Nation, must be organized to accomplish this task.

Summary:

HAS[illegible]GAWA: I have written on the constitution revision two or three times in the editorial column. In this article I pointed out that the theory which affirms the impossibility of revising this constitution is wrong. Some people thought then that my opinion was seditious and advisee me to that effect. Later I wrote a criticsm on the Japanese Public Prosecution System. The OSAKA District Public Prosecutor's Office Learned of the criticism and planned to arrest me. One of the prosecutors, who was living at the same boardinghouse as I, one day told me that they wanted to arrest me on a charge of insulting, Government Officials, but could not arrest me on that charge because I did not blame the individual officials, but the whole public prosecution system. There is also another incident. I wrote an article insisting on the abolition of the Justice Ministry. I wrote that all the duties of the Justice Ministry be carried out by the public Prosecutor General. In regard to this article, I was Apple told by Mr. TORU, Sosen, one of my colleagues, that a judge of the Court of Appeals told him that it was impossible to abolish the Justice Ministry. The article was a little extreme in its argument. Upon hearing this, I became more careful as to what I wrote in the newspaper.

BABA: Did you work for the ASAHI for a long, time?

HASEGAWA: For less than 10 years. The last time was in 1918 if I remember correctly. At the time of the TERAUCHI Cabinet, a social reporter wrote an article on the universal suffrage campaign. In this article he quoted from a Chinese classic which caused serious trouble. He was accused by the Public Prosecutor's Office. Consequently, we of the editorial staff had to resign en masse, assuming the responsibility.

BABA: A history of being opressed as a journalist, eh!

HAS[illegible]GAWA: I was the Chief reporter then.

BABA: Haven't you any good suggestions to help the people change their ideas so they ca[illegible]lead their lives in a cheerful frame of mind, for instance, social, cultural or philosophical plane?

HASEGAWA: I Want the Government to take steps to improve the present life of the people. Present Japan is in the throes of creation as a new country. The most important thing, for the present is food. There is no other way to save JAPAN than to improve the production as well as the distribution of materials.

BABA: The other day I told a friend of mine, who is an official of the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry, that it would be wise to deliver three go of rice to the people, "Well-fed, well-bred", as the old spying, goes. If only people could get an ample supply of food! As a matter of fact, all people in TOKYO look hungry these days. When hungry, people do not think of work. Therefore if they can get three go of rice on their ration, they would work or stop going, out to purchase foods. If there

- 3 -

POLITICAL SERIES: 154 (Continued)

ITEM 3 (Continued)

were an ample supply of food, the current inflation would soon "be settled, I presume.

HASACAWA: Is there sufficient rice to deliver three go per capita? I wonder!

BARA: My friend said that there is no rice. I advised him that the Government should deliver three go until next March or April so the people can eat the nation to their heart's content and keep on working. The point is which is better, to eat less in order to survive longer without working, or to eat three go a day in order to be more active and to reconstruct and revive the people and the country. This is where the decision of a statesman is needed. Otherwise, there will be no chance of our Nation reviving at all.

HASAGAWA: The main thing is devising a plan to promote the delivery of the rice crop by farmers to the Government.

BABA: I am of the opinion that a three go delivery is possible.

HASAGAWA: The authorities are insisting that if a rice shortage follows later, they will not be able to cope with it. Judging from this, the Government is incompetent either intuitively or scientifically in solving this urgent problem. This makes them unable to decide whether to make the farmers deliver their rice to the Government, or to draft a suitable policy by grasping, the public mentality scientifically.

DISTRIBUTION "X"

- 4 -