Press translations [Japan]. Economic Series 0044, 1945-12-04.

Full Translation:

The figures of foreign trade covering the period from 1940 to the end of June 1945 were disclosed by the Finance Ministry on 27 November 1945 as follows:

(1) List of Total Amounts (Each unit equals one thousand Yen)

(2) Exports and Imports to and from Principal Countries

ECONOMIC SERIES: 44 (Continued)

ITEM 1.(Continued)

NOTE: Wartime Import from the Allied countries means the import of Allied countries products.

(3) List of Principal Commodities Exported and Imported (Quantity in each first line).

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ECONOMICS SERIES: 44 (Continued)

ITEM 1. (Continued)

Imports

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ECONOMIC SERIES:44 ( Continued)

ITEM 1 (Continued)

Full Translation:

Home Minister HORIKIRI obtained the approval of the Cabinet on 29 Nov, for his Ministry's program of construction of public works for land and river improvement. It is a panacea program in the sese that on one hadn it will help solve the problem of the unemployed, the number of which in November reached four million, and is fearer that it will reach ten million in the near future; This reconstruction program will hasten production of food by improving the lands. The program as presented to the Cabinet can be outlined as follows:

The program termed "Emergency Unemployment Remedy Through Public Works" shall be a four year program beginning this fiscal year. It includes river improvement (national, prefectural, and local government utilities), sand protection (national and profectural government works), road building (national, prefectural, and local works), and land development (national works). Ahigh priority shall be given to works which have been started or decided upon previusly. The selection of new enterprise will be governed by local conditions of unemployment and the relationship of the new project to other public works (such as the war-calamity reconstruction program) [illegible]shall be taken into consideration.

On the whole, for the determination of public works under this program the following three points sall be taken into account: 1. The work must require a great number of laborers. 2. The (public work must contribute to increases in food production). 3 It can be done without using too many important materials. In view of the urgent nature of the program, the aspect of the budget shall be promptly considered. For the prefectural or local undertaking liberal grants will be made as subsidies by the national government. A total amount of 2,664,530,000 shall be set aside for the main items divided as follows (in Yen): River improvement (National). 417, 400,000; Sand protection (National), 39,929,000; Land development (National), 18,020,000; River improvement (Prefectural), 1,239,181,000; sand protection (Prefectural), 450,000,000; River improvement (Local), 500,000,000; work days required for these projects are estimated as follows: 1945 fiscal 2,981,000; 1946 fiscal year, 119,180,000; 1947 fiscal year, 116,688,000 and [illegible]1948 fiscal year, 115,139,000.

The total amounts to 353,990,000 works days, or average employment for 450,000 to 460,000 men per day, when the work is once in full swing. With these works the Home Ministry expects to acquire new farm land and rice crops as shown by the following figures:

Summary:

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ECONOMIC SERIES: 44 (Continued)

ITEM 3 (Continued)

Allied Headquarters has permitted the Japanese Government to pay compensations to amunition industries, on condition that the are subject to the profits and capital levy taxes. Industrialists felt that the uncertainty surrounding their fate has now been lifted, despite the aforometioned taxes. Extracts of statements made be spokesmen of the important Industries. Association, the former Nakajima Aircraft Plant and Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Company are as follows:

Although it is over three months since the end of the war there is still but a very small fraction of shipbuilding and motor vehicle production compared with prew r standards. The major cause of the delay is attributed to indesision concerning the compensation problem. The General Headquarters directive admitted that the compensation to be made to wartime industries will accelerate an industrial reconversion to peace time production. They are Keenly interested in determining how far back they should be dated. If it is dated from 1940. There will be a difficult problem in dealing with the reserve fund. Property taxes on corporations is nothing less than reducion or watering of the capital. This will place obstacles in ghe path of greater output. Also, it may help stimulate inflation.

The former NAKAJIMA Aircraft Company is prepared to reduce production to its 1936 level and to give up wartime profits without hestation. They are studying reconversion to peacetime industry. However, they expressed the hope that the tax would not be such so as to discourage enterprise, Now that the compensation policy has been disclosed they feel that they will be able to tide over the comng crisis with the stock holders. NAKAJIMA intends to establish a new corporation, which will not engage in heavy industry. They would not take action however, until General Headquarters discloses how large the business may be. If compensation is realized, it will go to meet the loan, amounting to 800 million yen, made by the Hypothetic Industrial Bank of Japan. The former NAKAJIMA Corporation may be liquidated or remain as a holding company.

If compensation is to be paid in full the Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Company will return its two and one half billion yen debt in order to be relieved of the burden of a colossal interest payment, a spokesman said, They inten to reduce the capital to a reasonable scale and to convert the financial structure to meet the situation. But they have no intention of creating new company. This is not feasible since they have more than 30,000 stock holders. Whether they decrease the capital by market operation or by devaluation of stock is yet to be decided, but the former probably is not practicable. The popular idea that the aircraft industry has accumulated a tremendous profit during the war is not true. Since the end of hostilities, retirement allowances and other expenditures affected their assets materially.

Special precautions should be taken to impose property and war profits taxes impartially and according to the capacity of a business to be taxed. Again a double tax should be avoided. The MITAUBISHI spokesman said, "The tax, should preferably be limited to the capacity of the private stock holders."

DISTRIBUTION "X"

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