Press translations [Japan]. Editorial Series 0043, 1945-12-02.
Date2 December, 1945
translation numbereditorial-0187
call numberDS801 .S82
Persistent Identifier
EDITORIAL SERIES: 43
ITEM 1 Premier's Speech Betrays Lack of Cognizance of the Current Situation - Yomiuri-Hochi - 29 Nov 45. Translator: K. Kawanabe.
Full Translation:
Much attention has been given to the Diet in anticipation of what Premier SHIDEHARA
would say in his general administative
speech made before the 89 Session of the Diet on 28 November. It added nothing to
increase the nation's trust in the
Government.
The speaker said "In our foreign relations we are incapacitated; we do not possess
the substantial power to uphold and carry
out our policies which we ourselves may believe to be just and equitable." Are there
any people who have the same opinion? It
is a clear fact in view of the post war situation that all directives issued by the
Allied Forces are based on justice and
fair play. Then, what is "the substantial power" that is wanting? The words mean nothing
but the power of the military, of the
big families and the bureaucrates at whose disappearance we are very happy.
He also said "JAPAN, having accepted the Potsdam Declaration, is obliged to remove
all obstacles to the revival and
development of democratic tendencies." Did the government, however, take voluntarily
any revolutionary means prior to the
directives of the Allied Forces? In the revision of the constitution, the taxation
of war profits, etc. no initiative was
taken by the Government. We are not considering the democratization as our duty but
desire it from the bottom of our
hearts.
In this respect the Government is far from satisfactory. All policies declared by
the Premier, namely, efforts to import food,
promotion of the agriculture, and relief for war victims, for our nationals overseas
and for repatriates, lead to democracy.
But it must be kept in mind that the first step toward the democratization in our
country should be inquiry into the cause of
the war.
Toward the end of his speech, the Premier stated for mere form's sake that War Inquiry
Commissions has been set up in the
Cabinet to probe the cause and actual conditions that brought on defeat. "Setting
up a commission" has been the old means
taken by the military and bureaucratic cabinet to shift responsibilities, and the
present cabinet is resorting to it! It is
useless to inquire into the cause and actual conditions that brought on defeat! The
people and the whole world are calling to
account the cause which induced the war and not the cause which brought the defeat.
It was very clear from the first that we'd lose the war under the despotic reign
of the militarists and the bureaucrats. If it
had
EDITORIAL SERIES: 43 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
happened that we'd won, it would be the people who'd suffer most severely. In regard
to the Commission, we have something more
to say. The Government has again appointed former high-ranking officials as chief
members of that Commission. The bureaucratic
clique is composed of the upper structure of feudalism in JAPAN and may well be expected
to be dissolved in the immediate
future.
Now the military have been disarmed, and the big families have been destroyed. This
appointment shows the anarchism of the
Government. After all is said and done, the Premier's speech betrays lack of cognizance
of the post war situation and makes
the people consider how unfortunate it is to have such a Cabinet with which to tide
over the tight situation.
ITEM 2 From the Diet - Yomiuri-Kochi - 29 Nov 45. Translator: T. Unayama.
Full Translation:
We saw Prime Minister Baron SHIDEHARA, Kijuro, on the rostrum after a lapse of fifteen
years. His administrative speech, which
took twenty-minutes, was brief and to the point, and the tone was very much like a
lecture. If a chair of diplomatic history
were created in a university, he would be the professor most fit for the post.
However, when he made a reply to the speech of SAITO, Takao, a member of the Progressive
Party, he looked as if he were
counterattacking. Sallying out, his face flushed, he raised his voice with the words
"I have never said that the present
representatives were chosen by the authorities, and that when the representatives
chosen in the coming general election are
recognized as unsuited to the will of the people, the Diet will be dissolved again.
In short, the press release, which
appeared as the Premier's talk in all papers at the time I was inaugurated, is full
of mistakes."
If there had been mistakes in the press report, why did he not submit a correction
at that time? When something goes wrong,
the bureaucrats impute the crime to the mistakes of the papers. But we cannot believe
that all the papers mistook a person's
speech. This question should be transferred for negotiation between the cabinet and
the reporters who were sent to the
Premier's official residence.
The Prime Minister has not grown so old as was expected, but SAITO is out of date.
The latter's argument on the constitution
and democratic policy based on press clippings, does not meet this pressing social
situation. The climax of his argument came
when he openly stated Prince KONOE'S responsibility for the war. No one but he can
speak so openly. Against this, Baron
SHIDEHARA answered that he cannot agree to such a close inquiry into the responsibility,
and took the edge off SAITO'S
argument, saying moderately that he wants to simplify the means for those who spontaneously
admit their responsibility. This
is the difference in viewpoints of a critic and an actual politician.
The War Minister SHIMOMURA, Sadamu's, reply to SAITO'S argument on the development
of militarism was a pathetic one. He, with
his head drooping and keeping back his tears, said "I ask you a thousand pardons from
the bottom of my heart". Then he asked
sympathy for soldiers at large and bowed his head. There were persons among the members
of the cabinet, on the floor and in
the ladies' seats who wept with him in sympathy. SHIMOMURA had already taken off his
uniform and was in a black
sack-coat.
SAITO said, "we will hereafter in the Diet never see militaristic ministers again";
SHIMOMURA said, "the Army dissolves and
has no means
- 2 -
EDITORIAL SERIES: 43 (Continued)
ITEM 2 (Continued)
to ask pardon. Why did not the militarists reform themselves earlier? In a way we
feel lonely.
At any rate, discussions in the Diet have received. Not only in the period of TOJO
but also in the period of KONOD, the
Representatives' speeches were stopped. Moreover, the questioners on behalf of the
parties were limited to a person or two.
However in this Diet they compromised to send three questioners from the Progressive
Party and one from each other party.
When resolutions and bills are introduced, many of them will appear on the rostrum
in turns end activity of the committee is
imaginable, nevertheless, the official building of the Diet having been saved from
air raids, all Representatives being relics
of the TOJO period, and every party being a mosaic work of old age, no impression
of the new age is felt.
ITEM 3 The Limit of Students' Movements - Mainichi Shimbun - 29 Nov 45. Translator: K. Nagatani.
Full Translation:
Our educational institutions today have restored freedom after over ten years of
military suppression, and at the same time
our students are taking the initiative in educational democratization. Generally speaking,
this tendency may well be favorably
viewed by the people. However, we are very sorry to find that because of their poor
knowledge of democracy, our student
movements are likely to run to extremes.
Of course this tendency may be understood to be a temporary reaction against the
post relentless pressure upon them.
Accordingly we believe that in due course of time the present rather extreme movements
by the students will converted to just
and fair movements. Our student movements are concerned with those who will take important
roles in the construction of a new
JAPAN.
The fact that our universities are the source of our culture and civilzation, permits
no indifference on the most of the
general public in the matter. Students also should bear in mind that their movements
are receiving general attention.
It is quite obvious today that up to now our educational principles have proved feudalistic
and autocratic. "Moreover heads of
some private universities often neglected the original mission of universities as
educational institution and utilized
university systems to gain profits. For example, some heads of Japanese private universities
attempted to gain social prestige
and make profits by students' base-boll games and other sports. Such detestable tends
of the past should not be allowed to
exist in schools of the future. In this light the student criticism of the management
of universities or other schools may be
justifiable or in some cases encouraged.
Nevertheless, constant student participation in school management makes for neglect
of their duties as students. Students are
not complete social men but are in the course of becoming so. This fact naturally
gives e certain limit to student movements.
In other words student movements should something different from those of the general
public.
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EDITORIAL SERIES: 43 (Continued)
ITEM 3 (Continued)
In our country the general public as well as the students themselves have been accustomed
to thinking that particular
privileges should be granted to students. This must be considered reflectively by
the students and the general public. The
pressing problem facing our students today is how to manage their lives. Of course,
this cannot he decided by students alone.
But if the students do their utmost to solve the practical problems confronting them,
it will mean some progress of student
movements towards the democratization of schools.
DISTRIBUTION "X"
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