Press translations [Japan]. Economic Series 0057, 1945-12-08.
Date8 December, 1945
RepositoryRauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College.
Call Numbereconomic-0276
Call NumberDS801 .S81
Persistent Identifier
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ECONOMIC SERIES: 57
ITEM 1 Gold. and Silver Collected by the Government During Wartime - Mainichi Shimbun
- 7 Dec 45.
Translator: S. Kinoshita.
Full Translation:
At the plenary session of the Budget Committee, the Finance Ministry authorities
revealed the amount of gold and silver
collected by the Government during the war and how it was used.
According to the announcement, the total amount of silver collected through the Silver
Collection Campaign, enforced since
October 1944, is 277,380 metric tons, of which only 38,938 metric tons were used for
munitions. Silver coins were collected
successively from 1941 to May 1945 and amounted to 986,600 metric tons in total weight
or 130,703,000 yen in total face value.
Of these 986,600 metric tons of silver coins, 659,500 metric tons were used for munitions.
No gold was collected until October
1944 when the Government resumed collection along with silver. The total amount of
gold collected was 1,057 metric tons, all
of which remains unused.
ITEM 2 AMAGASAKI Precision Instruments Company Conversion Successful - Nippon Sangyo-Keizai
- 7 Dec 45.
Translator: H. Shindo.
Full Translation:
The AMAGASAKI Precision Instruments Company (AMAGASAKI SEIKO KABU-SHIKI-GAISHA),
a former munitions company, has successfully
completed its conversion to the manufacture of civilian goods. The company has begun
to produce electric heaters, electric
fans, electric agricultural implements, mills, electric clocks, silk looms, printing
and press machines, dial gauges,
calculators, micrometers, etc. As early as 8 October 1945, two months after the war
ended, the Company sent into the market an
electric heater, one of its products. Since its president, SUGIYAMA, an engineer who
had obtained many patents for electrical
agricultural implements, foresaw that the war would end and that munition production
would be suspended, he tried, even during
the war, to arrange for eventual peacetime production.
In June of this year the Company absorbed the MIYAZAKI Electric Instruments Company
(MIYAZAKI DENKI KABUSHIKI-GAISHA),
capitalized at 15,000,000 yen, which had been producing a superior quality of wire
instruments, and the equipment absorbed was
evacuated to MIKUNI in FUKUI-Ken. The MIKUNI factory will produce silk looms and electric
instruments. Conditions permitting,
the factory will resume the production of "habutai" (one of the silk textiles).
The AMAGASAKI factory of the Company was about 50 per cent destroyed by air raids
on 15 June. On 25 June, as soon as one of
its barracks had been completed, the factory was again shipping products. The
ECONOMIC SERIES: 57 (Continued)
ITEM 2 (Continued)
reason for the company's production speed was that abundant materials in stock were
saved.
Let us reflect upon the record of the Company. The Company seems to have decided
to postpone its settlement of accounts along
with other companies of the same industry. It is not so swollen with war profits that
it has to worry about them. The Company,
under the good management of its engineer president, SUGIYAMA, will be able to produce
superior goods.
ITEM 3 Mackerel-Pike Abundant - Nippon Sangyo-Keizen - 7 Dec 45. Translator: H. Shindo.
Full Translation:
Mackerel-pike has been steadily abundant since the first catch in CHOSHI Port in
CHIBA-Ken on 3 December 1945. The price of
these fish has been settled at one yen ninety sen each, far below the highest price
of 4 yen set up at the first catch.
Mackerel was sold not only in the prefecture itself but also shipped to TOKYO. The
catch of yellow tail pike was also so
abundant that they were sold at about 10 yen each.
ITEM 4 To Produce Salt for Home Use. in FUKUSHIMA-Ken - Nihon-Sangyo-Keizai - 7 Dec
45. Translator: T.
Mitsuhashi.
Full Translation:
The SAITAMA-Ken Marine Products Control Union (SAITAMA-KEN-SUISAN-BUTSU-TOSEI-KUMIAI)
has planned to establish an electrified
salt works at HARANO-Machi of FUKUSHIMA Prefecture in order to produce sixty tons
of salt monthly.
The salt produced is to be shipped by air to the fish process works of the HOKKAIDO
Union for use in salting fish. The
processed fish will be shipped to SAITAMA Prefecture. A substantial quantity of the
salted herring will be distributed among
the people of the SAITAMA-Ken next April.
ITEM 5 Opposition to Raising the Price of Rice - Nippon Sangyo Keizai - 7 Dec 45.
Translator: K.
Sato.
Full Translation:
The Government has announced a considerable rise in the purchase price of rice in
order to promote the success of the quota
movement, but this project is being strongly opposed by a group of farmers in GIFU
Prefecture, whose leader ITO, Seiichi, is a
member of the Quota Committee of GIFU Prefecture. The farmers held a mass meeting
at ONCHIMURA on 5 December and decided to
spread propaganda throughout the whole prefecture. The movement is arousing keen interest
in every quarter because the leader
is a member of the Quota Committee.
(SAITAMA's Quota Distribution of Rice Not Successful.)
The quota distribution of rice crop in SAITAMA seems slow and inactive, and according,
to a survey made 5 December by the
Prevention of Crime Section of the same prefecture there are 119 out of 307 cities,
towns and villages which have completed
the quota distribution of
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ECONOMIC SERIES: 57 (Continued)
ITEM 5 (Continued)
rice. There is quite a difference between the figures of this year and those of last
year. This is partly due to the
resignation of many peasant leaders who are unable to bear the stigma of being responsible
for JAPAN's defeat. As a result,
the business of the village offices was brought to a standstill, partly because of
the delay in forwarding orders to the
villagers on the part of the CHIHOJIMUSHO Local Office, and partly because of the
indolence of the village and town leaders in
handling this business.
At KAGEMORI-Mura, CHICHIBU-Gun, the head of the Agricultural Corporation, and the
manager of the Agricultural Corporation of
OKANO-Machi, the same district, resigned. At HACHIGATA-Mura and ORIGATA-Mura, OSATO-Gun,
there was evidence of neglect of
business in not opening the meetings necessary for the decision of important matters.
Concerning SHIKI-Machi, KITA ADACHI-Gun,
and the other aforementioned 20 villages, the blame is placed with the Local Office
in delaying the forwarding of the
orders.
ITEM 6 Land Reform Bill as Discussed in the Diet - Nippon Sangyo Keizai - 7 December
45. Translator: R.
Aoki.
Summary:
At the plenary session of the Diet on 6 December, important discussions developed
about the Land Reform Bill. At first, Mr.
MURAYASU of the Liberal Party argued that Article 27, Section Two of the Constitution
provides for the government's right of
expropriation, but this right is understood to be confined to certain limited matters.
However, wholesale application of this
right, such as under the present bill, may constitute unconstitutionality and, as
such, will threaten the legal order of the
Nation. He asked whether or not the bill will apply to newly reclaimed lands.
To this the State Minister MATSUMOTO and the Agricultural Minister MATSUMURA replied
that the right of expropriation does not
necessarily apply to such a limited extent. The very existence of the Land Expropriation
Law, the Agricultural Land Adjustment
Law, the City Planning Law and so forth exemplifies this point. Moreover, under the
present bill, wholesale application of the
law is not anticipated. It is expected that the larger part of land redistribution
will be effected through mutual agreement
of the parties concerned. The newly reclaimed land will come under this bill also,
but some practical steps will be taken so
that the spirit of reclamation may not be curtailed unnecessarily.
Then Mr. HIRANO of the Social-Democratic Party argued that it seems unreasonable
to present such an important bill in the form
of a revision to the rather minor Agricultural Land Adjustment Law, instead of giving
it the status of an independent law. Mr.
HIRANO also discussed the fact that by having raised the land limitation under this
bill from three cho to five, the land
applicable under this bill has been reduced from 2,500,000 cho to 1,500,000 cho, and
furthermore, about 1,000,000 tenants have
lost their chance to become land owners. Therefore, Mr. HIRANO maintains that the
authorities must give precise information as
to the reason for this change in the draft.
The Agricultural Minister replied that the Agricultural Land Adjustment Laws applicable
to both the owner and the tiller of
the land and and is suitable for the present purpose. The reason for the decision
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ECONOMIC SERIES: 57 (Continued)
ITEM 6 (Continued)
to increase the minimum to five cho, instead of three, is that the Government anticipated
that this would more effectively
establish rural society. Too great an increase in small farms would not necessarily
be welcomed.
Finally, Mr. IKEMOTO of the Liberal Party asked why such an important bill was presented
to an Extraordinary Session, and,
also, whether or not the Government is truly determined to have this bill pass through
the present session. The Agricultural
Minister answered that the Government felt an urgent need for this law and is fully
determined to carry out the plan within
five years. Finally, he argued that JAPAN can import food only by Allied consent after
having exhausted all means available
toward increasing her food supply. He also pointed out that the rice monopoly has
not yet been considered by the present
Cabinet and that control of staple foods will continue in the future.
ITEM 7 Headquarters for the Increase in Foodstuffs by National Railway - Nippon Sangyo,
Keizai - 7 Dec.
45. Translator: K. Sato.
Full Translation:
The Government Railway has been endeavoring to increase the production of food since
the beginning of this year by
establishing farms cultivated by railway workers in their spare time and farms for
training in the areas under the
jurisdiction of every bureau. Recently, headquarters has been set up to increase food
production, and a branch office is to be
established in every bureau. The main purpose of this project is to manage stock farming,
marine products, salt manufacture
and other many-sided industries involving the production of edibles. Stress is especially
laid upon the cultivation of
undeveloped fields, and on solving the food problem of the officials engaged in railway
work.
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