Press translations [Japan]. Social Series 0099, 1945-12-19.

Summary:

(TN: N.M.C.-NAGOYA MEDICAL College; N.T.C. -NAGOYA Technical College; N.C.C.NAGOYA Commercial College; E.H.S. The Eighth High School at NAGOYA)

The Rise in Living Costs:

N.M.C.-70 per cent of the students are boarded at boarding houses and dormitories. A typical example of a dormitory accommodating students. Serves just two meals a day at the dormitory. Most of their staple food consists of potatoes. Several students take turns going to the country to pet about 15 kan of potatoes every Sunday. The individual monthly expenditure of each student is 300 yen.

N.T.C.-Half of all the students, or 600, are boarders. The boarding-house owners make such sordid demands on the students and forces them to hand over 3 sho of rice in addition to their regular ration, and then they don't give them their lunches.

E.H.S. -Gives the statistics on the caloric value of their diet for 4 types of students: Students going to school from their own homes get 2120 calories and 45.8 grams of albumen. These from non-professional boarding houses receive 1767 calories and 52.8 grams of albumen. At regular boarding houses they get 1589 calories, 30,5 grams of albumen, and at the school dormitory 1287 calories and 37 3 grams of albumen.

Going home and School Lectures:

N.M.C.-Most of the students stay away from college to go to their provincial homes for a weeg or 10 days every month which pleases the boarding house managers.

N.C.C.-The Students from neighboring districts go home for weekends and bring, back rucksacksful of potatoes for the students from remote districts. These scenes are moving professers to tears! As a result of frequent trips home or to the country, regular school attendance of students compared with prewar days is 60 per cent, at the N.M.C. 86 per cent at the N.C.C. and 82 per cent at the N.T.C. Only the Eight High School has the equivalent of its prewar attendance, but most students refuse to attend physical training classes giving low vitality as a reason. School restaurant fees at N.C.C. which were 90 sen per day were raised to 3 yen.

As a result of school food problems, the Education Ministry has permitted

SOCIAL SERIES 99 (Continued)

ITEM 1 (Continued)

the transfer of students to other colleges in JAPAN and many N.M.C. students wants to go to TOKYO, KYOTO, OSAKA, KYUSHU, or TOHOKU. N.C.C. on the other hand has more students who want to enter than these who want to leave the school. At the Eighth High School about 100 students are absent because of mal-nutrition. Because of the food problem, all NAGOYA Colleges have scheduled a long Christmas holiday ranging from 35 to 70 days.

The Future Politics of NAGGYA Colleges

N.T.C. has a training farm which had a harvest of 20 bales of rice, and 600 kan of potatoes this year is going to reclaim about 3500 tsubo of military and naval lands.

E.H.S. is going to establish a system of an all-boys-in-school-dormitory.

N.C.C. is going to have a schoolco-op but it is not of any immediate use.

Full Translation:

A special New Year's ration of food for the residents in the TOKYO metropolitan area was revealed in a statement by Chief of the TOKYO Metropolitan Economic Bureau, ISHIHARA, as follows: Each person will have a ration of 300 grams of rice. It is desirable that each neighborhood association or neighborhood group association respectively entrust rice-cake makers with the making of rice-cakes. Toward this end metropolitan authorities are forming a plan for a special distribution of fuel among rice-cake makers. The fees for making rice-cakes will be settled on or around 20th December.

The ration of red beans will be 50 grams per person, Male adults will be given one sho of sake and two bottles of beer which may be exchanged for eight go of distilled sake or sweet sake, while each women will have only five go of sake and four go of prape wine. However, some people might only get half the ration of these alcoholic beverages from now until the end of the year as a result of bad transportation and they will be given the rest on New Year's.

Bean oil, rape-seed oil and peanut oil will each be given in the amount of five seki per person. Ten momme of tangles, two pieces of dried lavers, one piece of mineece fish and one piece of steamed fish per person, and 15 to 20 momme of biscuits for each child between three and fifteen years will be given during next few days. The ration of 100 momme of the mandarin oranges and 20 momme of clams per person is under consideration.

On the other hand, 260,000 cases (each case containing four dozen one pound tins of tinned provisions will be distributed among residents in the six big cities and 57 other war damaged major cities. Thus each resident in those cities will have about one pound of tinned provisions.

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SOCIAL SERIES 99 (Continued)

Full Translation:

A burglar about 25 year old attacked SHIMIZU, Kunikichi, Stall master in the SHIMBASHI Subway Station, at NISHIGINZA, KOBASHI on the night of 14 December SHIMIZU sustained an injury which will take one reek to completely heal and the burglar fled with 2,000 yen. Earlier on the same night, SUMIYOSHI, Hideo, Z-1 KOBIKI-Gho, KYOBASEI-Ku was threatened by two robbers armed with short shorts at KYOBASHI and the robbers fled with 600 yen.

On the sane night a burglar broke into the house of FUNABASHI, Kei, 3-5321, HCNGI-Cho, KATSUSHIKA-Ku and choked Mrs. YAMZAKI, Kazuko into unconsciousness. He absconded with several suits of clothes. Also that night three burglars broke into the house of HORII, Kintaro, 44, SEDOCAYA-Machi, HODOGAYA-Ku, YOKOHAMA, and fled with 300 yen.

Summary:

The final recourse of the salaried people groaning under the heavy burden of inflation is to turn to the Mutual Benefit associations, TOKYO Municipal Office has recently made an investigation into public opinions regarding the Mutual Benefit Associations for TOKYO city officials. The various claims of the city officials may be regarded as serious appeals by the salaried people in general. The chief examples are as follows:

Mr. B: The co-operative stores should be reorganized, and the committees should consist of low-salaried office workers who are really in need of food instead of nominal committees composed of section chiefs.

Mr. D: If the present state of affairs continues there will be more absentees and sicknesses among officials because of food difficulties. An improvement in the management of the Association is absolutely necessary. The size of the organization is no excuse for its management being profligate. Bureaucratic patching-up policies should be replaced by a true awakening to official's welfare.

Mr. C: At a certain TOKYO Ward office. The Mutual Benefit Associations hitherto has been far from what we had expected. Strong proposals are being made to have an independent organization of a co-op in each ward office where some subsidy would be allowed by the association or they could sell commodities even cheaper than at cost.

A certain lady in a certain section: Food allowances should be given to the night watches of city officials. The city officials' food shortage is beyond imagination and I hope this investigation will stimulate new and better policies.

Summary:

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SOCIAL SERIES 99 (Continued)

ITEM 5 (Continued)

MITO Military Police ascertained that 80 demobilized soldiers with Major UNO, Shuichi, as their leader have formed a farming troop to reclaim MITO North Air Field. They did look like an honest group of demobilized soldiers who called themselves the MITO Farm group. They ostensibly aimed at increased productivity. But in fact they were a group of black marketeers who were hiding several hundred bales of rice, huge amounts of clothing, trucks, telephone cutfite, horse-wagons, cement, soy (shoyu) and other goods in large quantities. The military police began prosecuting then en the 10th. Major KANDA, Keiichi, chief paymaster of the former GOU Army Division has been held responsible and was arrested by OMIYA Police.

The Military police have seized 400 bales of rice, 30 bags of cement, 560 blankets, 94 casks of SHOYU, 35 casks of nails, 4 horse-wagons and 36 other items.

Full Translation:

General Headquarters has issued a derective to recue those who have been reduced to utter poverty. To execute the directive the Welfare Ministry has decided upon a "Sufferes Rescue Plan" and after a cabinet meeting held on 15 December approved its plans, the Ministry ordered the prefectural government office to devise measures to put these rescue plans into effect.

The plans aim to aid the unemployed, war sufferers, repatriates and their families, sick and wounded soldiers and their families, families of war dead, as well as the ordinary poor men.

Measures to be taken will include:

• 1.Accomodations, dining halls, and medical consultations will be set up or enlarged;
• 2.Suits, bed-cloths and living necessities will be issued;
• 3.Food will be provided;
• 4.Positions will be found for the unemployed;
• 5.Tools will be given or rented to grow vegetables on their home-farms.

The provincial rescue organizations, and chiefs of neighborhood associations will co-operate with the associations.

DISTRIBUTION "X"

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