Press translations [Japan]. Social Series 0178, 1946-01-18.

Full Translation:

Democratic advances ware made in the MIYAGI Branch of the Greater JAPAN Education Association (DAI NIPPON KYOIKUKAI), which has proposed improvement in livelihood and dwellings to the Governor and to the Chairman of the Prefectural Assembly. With the resignation of the Governor from the office of the branch-chief of the Association, the renovated mechanism of the organization plans to adopt a self-governing scheme and open the teachers' union, with officials elected solely from the active teachers. Personnel from the high official quarters will he rejected.

The first move is the election of the officials. A sub-branch of committeeman with two years tenure in office is to be the representatives from each school, which must necessarily be composed of active teachers. A sub-branch chief, two sub-branch subsidiary chiefs, and several councillors are to be elected by the committee-men. The prefectural branch committee will be composed of 45 committeemen who will elect the prefectural branch chief and subsidiary chiefs.

The election of the SENDAI-Shi sub-branch will be held before 12 January and accordingly other elections will be held presently.

The budget and settlement of accounts of the Association have been discussed and approved by the councillors, but hereafter they will be the business of all the committee members from the 519 schools. A young-men's school and a national school win unite territorially in organizing a sub-branch.

Full Translation:

An additional order has recently been issued by the Education Office in regard to the SCAP directive concerning the employment of demobilized soldiers as teachers or in any posts of leadership in education. Consequently, the Prefectural Education Section in NIIGATA-Ken took temporary steps to allow none of the demobilized soldiers to assume any actual tasks in education, and those now teaching will remain until a test is conducted by the examination committee on whether they are proper teachers.

The new order will exclude over 900 educators from actual educational work in secondary and national schools in the Prefecture. The suspension is expected to affect severely the educational faculties, from which 502 assistant teachers have recently removed in

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favor of demobilized soldiers. Appropriate procedures for the Prefectural Education Section are being demanded. The number of demobilized soldiers teaching, as of 31 October 1945, was 165 men in secondary schools and 719 men in primary schools.

Summary:

The noteworthy points of a recent directive sent by the Education Ministry to the schools, in conformity with the SCAP directives ordering a complete abolition of militarism from educational institutions and a separation of Shintoism from the State, are as follows:

• 1.Those ex-teachers who were repatriated after I November shall be prohibited from lecturing in any school.
• 2.The Imperial portrait shall be distributed only to the schools which want to have it. The Imperial portrait which is to be distributed this time is a little different from the former one. In the previous portrait the Emperor was shown in his military uniform, but this one she's him attired in an Emperor's uniform. Worshipping ceremonies for the Imperial Palace, before the beginning of lectures and ceremonies on any festival days, are to be held or not held according to the will of the individual schoolmasters. However, any worshipping in absentia of the MEIJI or the ISE Shrines and installment of any altars shall be prohibited.
• 3.The Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, or Indonesians must be treated as well as the Japanese when they attend lectures in the Japanese schools.

Summary:

Dr. ABE, Nosai, is the new Education Minister in the recent reorganization of the Cabinet. He is heartily welcomed because of his conservatism. The cultural rehabilitation as directed by Dr. ABE will be as follows:

• 1.Regarding the Emperor, he is strongly insistent that a strict scientific investigation be made in order to show the real figure of the Emperor to the Nation. The Emperor system must not be used as an implement for any political conflict.
• 2.Dr. ABE insists that the renovation of the educational system begin with a resurrection of a three-year system in the higher school, a six-year system in the national school, five-year in the middle and three-year in the university and higher school for the cultural completion of individual personality.
• 3.Regarding the improvement of treatment for teachers: He hopes that this problem will be solved at the earliest possible date. Their campaign for organizing a union must not be abused by any politicians. 4. He is so enthusiastic that he will efficiently hasten the educational business and administrative reshuffle, and as for information service, especially in liaison with the SCAP, experts shall be appointed for various activities.

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At an interview with the press on 15 January, Dr. ABE said:

"In the present thinking world, the word ‘democracy' is prevalent, but its true meaning seems to be misunderstood. The Government must lead the Nation towards democracy by establishing a relationship between the protection of the state system and democracy, the Emperor system, etc.

Summary:

In conformity with the SCAP Directive issued on December 1945 regarding Shintoism, the Shrines Bureau sent instructions to the provincial Governments ordering them to stop any national or provincial grants or contributions of money for religious offerings to gods. Furthermore, they have begun to abolish many ordinances. They decided to abolish eleven imperial ordinances, including the Imperial Shrines Religious Service Ordinance, in a Cabinet meeting held on 11 January. These were published and carried into effect on 16 January.

As a result of the repeal of those ordinances, the classification of shrines will be abolished in the near future. The present classifications are first, second and third Government shrines, and the same classifications for national shirnes. Shrines existing at present, Government or national, number as many as 200.

Full Translation:

All the secret police agents, such as the special, higher, and information sections, which prevented and suppressed the fundamental freedom of the people, were supposed to have been abolished completely. Did they really disappear? There is one incident that might be considered as political police activity. What is the opinion of the Metropolitan Police Board on this? Is it limited only to this incident alone?

The fact was that the evening of 14 January, when the representatives of the Central Government Electric Railway laborers' Union were discussing issues, with Mr. TAKI, the Director of the TOKYO Railway Bureau in the Director's office on the 5th floor of the Transportation Ministry, and were having a hot argument with the latter on the items they have demanded, it was found that two plain clothes police officers of the Metropolitan Police Board had sneaked in and were collecting information. Upon being made aware of this fact, the Railway Bureau authorities in fear of aggravation of affairs with the Union, demanded that the police officers leave the room immediately. The event was not made public.

What on earth did this collection of information mean? The plain clothes police officers represented themselves as members of the Livelihood Section (SMIKATSUEA), and said that they had come to get information on the people's livelihood. Is this explanation true?

In this connection, the Archives and Documents Section of the Railway Bureau states the following:

"We know that they came to get information regarding the meeting, but we asked then to refrain from appearing at the scene. Perhaps,

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they found their way into the room by getting mixed in with newsmen. Considering that it might cause trouble if the Union men discovered the fact, we asked the officers to leave at once."

Mr. KOSUGI, the Chief of the Livelihood Section of the Metropolitan Police Board, said:

"It was true that two officers visited the meeting. We hone you will not think we sent the officers to control a labor dispute. Our intention was quite different. It was a precautionary step which we had to take in view of the possible tie-up of food shipments to TOKYO in case of sabotage by the railway workers if the dispute should become aggravated. Heretofore, we have dispatched officers to labor meetings of the Food Distribution Corporation or the Government Railways, etc., to watch them. In the future, we will continue the watch in this sense, without interfering with the dispute.

DISTRIBUTION "X"

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