Press translations [Japan]. Economic Series 0143, 1946-01-09.

Author Supreme Commander for The Allied Powers. Allied Translator and Interpreter Section.

Date9 January, 1946

translation numbereconomic-0689

call numberDS801 .S81

Persistent Identifier
GENERAL HEADQUARTERS
SUPREME COMMANDER FOR THE ALLIED POWERS
ALLIED TRANSLATOR AND INTERPRETER SECTION
PRESS TRANSLATIONS
No. 689 Date: 9 Jan 46

ECONOMIC SERIES: 143

ITEM 1 Teachers' Consumers' Cooperative to Be Organized - Provincial Newspaper, Tokushima Shimbun (Tokushima) - 5 Jan 46. Translator: T. Mitsuhashi.

Full translation:
A consumers' co-operative (HISHO SOGO) for the improvement of teachers' life is being organized and a committee composed of representatives of middle schools, primary schools, adult schools, the Educational Association, the Agricultural Production Section of the Prefectural Office and the Agricultural Association has been established for the purpose. The object of the consumers' co-operative is the co-operative purchase of vital goods, assistance in the renting of houses, and the setting up of accommodations and entertainment for the recreation of teachers. The co-operative will be composed of city sections and town and village sections, serving districts, groups of towns and villages, or a single town. Being small regional organizations, these sections will assume the form of a consumers' association or a co-operative association according to their own choice, all based on the Industrial Association Law (SANGHY KUMIAI HO). The Association may include also subordinate officials and policemen, if desirable, and will have independent management. These co-operatives will keep close contact with the city, town and village authorities concerned, the Agricultural Association, and the Fishery Association.
Moreover, it is still a matter of study whether regional associations should be combined into district or prefectural organizations, or be set up as minor branches of the Prefectural Branch of the Greater JAPAN Educational Association (DAINIPPON KYOIKUKAI KEMSHIBU), in order to maintain close relations with each other.

ITEM 2 Surplus Electric Power Must Be Active in Farm-Villages - Shortage in Sun-heat Can Be Electrically Supplemented - Two Yields A Year ARE Possible. - Sangyo Keizai (Tokyo) 7 Jan 46. Translator: T. Ukai.

Summary:
At present the utilization of electric power in JAPAN remains static and in the general work of the people it shows no signs of increasing, in spite of the fact that a huge amount of electric power, as much as 20,000,000 to 30,000,000 kilo watt hours, is daily wasted. The wasted power could be saved and utilized for starting numerous plants in the production of daily necessities, especially foods. There are probably no people who would have been refused access to an abundance of electricity and compelled instead to use its own manual laborer, as in JAPAN, where water power rations can actually afford to supply daily more than 80,000,000 kilo watt hours for general use.
One of the best examples of this waste is the existence of that petty farmer system which is peculiar to JAPAN and has no parallel in the world. Utilization of electricity is behind the times, though it must be recognized that for good reason this could not be avoided
ECONOMIC SERIES: 143 (Continued)
ITEM 2 (Continued)
in war time. Now that the war is over, however, we must consider this question and make a point of electrifying our daily life as well as the agrarian mode of living.
It is a matter of great satisfaction that a numbers of districts have taken up the problem of electrification of farm-villages as a permanent administrative policy. Electricity can be used to increase good production; irrigation and drainage works can be electrified, electrical equipment can replace oil machines; the land which yields once a year can be made to yield twice a year; electricity can also be utilized in inducing germination (budding) and in making additions to the sun's heat in the process of milling cereals; processes also of heating water and equipment for spraying, weeding, etc can be electrified.
There are certain agricultural experts who are somehow reluctant and disagree with electrification. The low standard of electrification in agriculture is due to their small knowledge of electrification, and they must be educated. It is very desirable for a village unit to have at least one electrified common place of work for processing and preserving food and for clearing and sometimes milling wheat and rice. The preparation of bean paste takes one year under the normal temperature, but only two or three days when done by an electrical process. Fisheries can be also largely electrified, that is, in drawing nets, drying, refrigerating, smoking, etc.
The obstacle in redistribution. The unique industrial resource left for JAPAN after the war is naturally water power. If we intend to reestablish the foundation of industries, we must necessarily electrify agriculture and fishing. We must renovate the production methods and modernize the technical aspects of these industries. We know that water power was fully utilized during the war; consequently, a comparatively large amount of electrical equipment must exist in munitious plants, etc, waiting to be utilized. In this connection we strongly advocate a mass transporting of electrical equipment from cities to villages and at the same time the movement of laborers, electric technicians, etc, thus completing the redistribution of population and giving a sound basis for reestablishing industries in general. The real obstacle of redistribution is negligence in handling the electrical equipment yet to be found in munition factories, especially in cities.
When electrification is realized, five chobu could be cultivated by one household, according to TAKABASHI, expert in the Power Bureau (DENRYOKU KYOKU). He also states that in carrying out the complete electrification of farm-villages, it is necessary, at this juncture, to seriously consider how to raise productive capacity and the standard of economic life as a whole, and not to confine oneself to looking for short term failure or success. With five chobu of land being cultivated by one household as a result of electrification, the surplus population could be assigned to various works of processing the products of agriculture, fishery and industry. That would give rise to manufacturing industries, and that in turn might give us reason to expect a movement among farm-villages, demanding the socialization and redistribution of electrical equipment in general.

ITEM 3 Ray of Hope for the Settlement of Food Import - Tokyo Shimbun - 7 Jan 46. Translator: R. Shibata.

Summary:
The reopening of foreign trade, especially imports of food, is most highly desirable for breaking the present economic deadlock. A
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ECONOMIC SERIES: 143 (Continued)
ITEM 3 (Continued)
directive was issued on 9 October, 1945 by SCAP permitting the importation of materials necessary for our civilian life. It should be noted that much headway has been made in a result of the understanding attitude of SCAP. The greatest need in JAPAN is, of course, food. The application presented by the Government to SCAP asks for food imports in 1946 amounting to 3,390,000 tons. We can anticipate a considerable quantity to be imported, although, in view of the present world food shortage, we can easily appreciate that the entire amount is hardly to be hoped for.
Korean and Siamese rice and American and Canadian wheat are considered to be the most hopeful at present. Above all, Korean rice is the most promising, considering the time element. In KOREA, as is well known, the rice-crop is so abundant this year that there is an estimated surplus of 10,000,000 koku, and at the very least 6,000,000. Our country is requesting 800,000 tons. In return, we are exporting about 70,000 tons of coal a month, and, we are ready to send oranges, medical supplies and other goods which KOREA needs. Trade will commence as soon as a mutual understanding is reached between the MacARTHUR's Headquarters and the occupation army in KOREA. As the control system was abolished there after the end of the war, some special system will be necessary for the collection of rice.
As for Siamese rice, we can not expect much, because it is to be exported to the districts occupied by the British Army. Though SIAM cannot supply as much as before, negotiations are under way, and we are offering in exchange railway equipment and other goods. We expect to import about 100,000 tons for this source. As yet there is no prospect of our being able to import goods from FRENCH INDO CHINA and FORMOSA. The wheat crop has failed badly in the southern hemisphere this year. Even AUSTRALIA is compelled to import, and we can only look to AMERICA and CANADA. We can particularly expect much from the former because our country has very good collateral in raw silk. AMERICA has already expressed her willingness to export food in return for raw silk. About 3,000 bales of raw silk had been shipped to AMERICA by the end of last year, and 850,000 bales are stocked at present. Anyway, it is clear that the possession of an exportable material gives grounds for hoping that the question of importing food may be favorably settled.

ITEM 4 Can We Be Optimistic About Coal Production? - Tokyo Shimbun - 8 Jan 46. Translator: T. Mitsuhashi.

Summary:
As announced by the Government, coal production has steadily increased since the November bottom output. Nevertheless, we can not be optimistic for there are still many fundamental factors to be solved. Though the production increased to 700,000 metric tons in December, the daily output per capita is no more than one-fifth to one-seventh of the pre-war figure. Consequently, the distribution of coal will be about l,050,000 metric tons in January 1946, including 410,000 metric tons to railway, 45,000 metric tons to shipbuilding, and 65,000 metric tons to ammonium sulphate industries. The decreased production is due to the shortage of food and houses for miners. The percentage of mine workers on their jobs once dropped to 20 or 30 per cent in HOKKAIDO, KYUSHU and JOBAN mines, because most workers went on buying tours for food. It has recently improved to 60 or 70 per cent.
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ECONOMIC SERIES: 143 (Continued)
ITEM 4 (Continued)
The present ration of rice is still insufficient for such heavily working miners; thus their savings have decreased day by day, as they have to buy food at black markets. Therefore, some miners are likely to become black market dealers to get more profits. Moreover, the supply of workers is greatly hampered by the shortage of houses for miners. The sabotage by capitalists is also a main cause of the reduced production. The labor unions have launched a campaign to check such sabotage by capitalists in order to guarantee the livelihood of the laboring class. The future activities of the labor unions in various mines will be something worth watching.
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