Press translations [Japan]. Economic Series 0318, 1946-02-17.
Date17 February, 1946
RepositoryDartmouth College Library
Call Numbereconomic-1381
Call NumberDS801 .S81
Persistent Identifier
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ECONOMIC SERIES: 318
ITEM 1 Note Issue has broken the 60 Billion Yen Mark - Mainichi Shimbun - 16 Feb 46.
Translator: T.
Kitagawa.
Summary:
The Bank of JAPAN Note issue which was 59 billion yen on 9 February increased by
400 million yen by 12 February, by 300
million yen on 13 February and 200 million yen on 14 February. The total issue
as of 14 February amounted to 59 billion and
989 million yen and before the noon of the following day finally reached the
60 billion level.
Meanwhile, the Bank's advance to city banks on 14 February amounted to 42 billion
675 million yen. The present swollen
circulation of bank notes, thus, is the result of the expansion of credit by
financial institutions and the drawing out of
money on deposit, and is not of a public - financial nature. The fact will further
be affirmed by the report of 22 member
banks of TOKYO Banks Association (TOKYO GINKO KYOKAI SHAIN GINKO) including
the TEIKOKU Bank stating that they had lost 2
billion 300 million yen of money deposits during the period from last October
to the end of January 1946, while their advance
during the same space of time had increased by 7 billion and 795 million yen.
The explanations for the situation are reported to be the following.
The Government is being seriously requested to take the following steps:
- 1.The general withdrawal of money to meet the high cost of living
- 2.The demand for currency for the conversion of money into goods for the evasion of the war profits and property taxes, or for concealing assets.
- 3.The demand for funds necessary for industrial conversion into the form of plants, materials hoarding, or for speculative purposes on time deposits or special frozen deposits as collateral.
- 4.The demand for more currency for the increased running expenses including a rise in salaries. This tendency is causing much difficulty in the management of banks. The tremendous amount of money in circulation has contributed nothing to productive activities so eagerly needed by the Nation but has been flowing into the consumer field resulting in the furtherance of the dreaded inflation. If things are left to take their own course the money-to-goods movement will be intensified, breeding sky-rocketing prices. The vicious inflation will shortly lead to national economic collapse.
The Government is being seriously requested to take the following steps:
ECONOMIC SERIES: 318 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
- 1.Stern measures for the furtherance of food delivery
- 2.Compulsory sale of hoarded goods,
- 3.The systematization of prices, with the price of rice as its basis,
- 4.Improvement in the delivery system,
- 5.Encouragement of increased production.
- 6.Decisive measures on currency and finance.
ITEM 2 Law Co-operatives Will Be Put Into Effect Shortly - Yomiuri [illegible]chi - 16
Feb 46. Translator: Y. Kurate.
Summary:
It is reported that the Government, is enacting the Law on Cooperatives for a sound
and healthy development of co-operatives.
By enforcing the Law, the Government is expected to bring about drastic reforms
in the machinery of Co-operative Asssociations
so as to prevent illegal action on the part of managers of the associations
and to meet consumers' demands as much as
possible.
ITEM 3 Rice in Stock Slightly Increases in Principal Cities - Nippon Sangyo Keizai
- 16 Feb 46.
Translator: T. Mitsuhashi.
Full Translation:
The amount of rice purchased by the Government up to 10 February reached 12,134,000
koku, which is 46 per cent of the
allotment. Although the rice delivery is still inactive, the amount of rice
stored in principal cities is not so low in
quantity as anticipated. In TOKYO, there are more than 110,000 koku as of 13
February, which is equivalent to a 14 days'
need.
The actual amount of rice in principal cities is as follows:
| as of 13 February | as of 31 January | |
| TOKYO | 110,164 | 98,000 |
| OSAKA | 41,888 | 35,300 |
| KOEI | 8,393 | 10,700 |
| YOKOHAMA | 30,553 | 23,000 |
| NAGOYA | 43,931 | 46,000 |
| KYOTO | 30,401 | 29,500 |
ITEM 4 Fundamental Reform of Taxes -Commodity Tax will be First - - Nippon Sangyo
Keizai - 16 Feb 16.
Translator: T. Mitsuhashi.
Full Translation:
The Minister of Finance is working out plans on taxes as part of a unified economic
policy which will stabilize commodity
prices and own national life. The fundamental reform of taxes is being considered,
as the present taxes, which were
established to cover war expenditures, became inadequate for our national life.
The reform will be made on the taxes for
property, commodities, amusements, eating and drinking, and special activities.
- 2 -
ECONOMIC SERIES: 318 (Continued)
ITEM 4 (Continued)
The Ministry of Finance intends to ask for approval of a tax reform from the Diet.
If the issuance of an Emergency Ordinance
is impossible, the revision will be limited to an ordinary Ordinance. The rates
of exemption on the A class commodity tax (
retail tax) will be raised first so that the tax may not be imposed on daily
essentials but on luxuries.
If possible, reduction of the admission tax would be made in some way. Next year's
budget requires more than a two billion yen
increase in the revenue on taxes to cover deficits. The regulation of increased
taxation and peacetime taxation is essential
to the reform of taxes.
ITFM 5 Minimum Wage Plan To Be Based on Living Cost - Existing Total Wage Restriction
System will Be
Abolished - Naipichi Shimbun - 16 Feb 46. Translator: H. Sato
Full Translation:
In order to secure a minimum standard of living for the people, the Government has
been planning to revise the existing wage
control decree, establish a minimum wage, and abolish the total wage restriction
system which does not meet the present
situation. The plan, has been completed and it will be submitted to the final
decision of the Central Wage Committee Meeting
(CHUO CHINGIN IINKAI) which will be held shortly.
Chief points of the present revision are as follows; (1) Minimum wages were fixed
on the basis of living costs giving due
consideration to the counter-measures for inflation which are under preparation
by the Government; (2) The difference between
the minimum wages of men and women was decided upon; (3) Grading was made in
the minimum wages according to the living costs
in the various localities.
Following the present revision of the wage system, revision of salaries will also
be made. Suggestions also were made by the
Finance Ministry for the establishment of maximum wages, but it has been decided
that to establish maximum wages would not be
feasible and would be against the principle of democracy.
DISTRIBUTION "X"
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