Press translations [Japan]. Editorial Series 0111, 1945-12-18.

Full Translation:

We are astonished to see that the Government is ignorant of the present coal condition and is so slow in improving the miner's treatment when cries are heard from all districts for coal. It has several times, during and after the war, announced on the radio and printed in newspapers its policy so that we continually expected improvement, but not one promise has ever been fulfilled. Promise without action only means vacant advertisement and deception to us.

We are in a state where it is impossible to live on only our wages. It is obvious that a miner, working in bad air, risking his life in the scorching mines and wearing out his body with heavy labor, could never work with the present food ration. We, who have been working during the war, under, such low wages and have been threatened as traitors even if we took a day off to supplement our food, have fallen upon the verge of death!

The Government says it will send assistance, but such assistance means only hindrance to permanent, coal miners. We can prove how inefficient they are by pointing out the Patriotic Service Parties. (TN? Groups who voluntered for work during the war). Fulfilment of miners' warm promises and improving treatment to their families are the only means of increasing coal out put. The main point is practice not publication. (From KAZUMATA, Kazuo, a coal miner.)

The following advertisement was given for employing mine laborers. "Even unexperienced miners will be paid from 8 to 12 yen per day beside the family allowance. As soon as work is started, over 5 go of rice shall be rationed each day." However, I being a miner who have experienced five years in a certain JOBAN mine shall report the actual conditions.

Daily wares are about 6 yen. Food consists of a fixed quantity, 2 go 5 shaku (30 per cent of substitute food) and 1 go 3 shaku of wheat additional ration. That makes in all 3 go 8 shaku a day. Our November allowance has not yet been given to us. Also, we have not received rubber soled socks (TABI) for a year. Although at the Diet, the Commerce Minister made speeches about warm treatment of miners, nothing has been put into practice. As long asthis is not fulfilled, coal production or labor reemployment will not increase. (From a mine laborer).

EDITORIAL SERIES: 111 (Continued)

ITEM 2 (Continued)

Full Translation:

At the general meeting of the Lover House Budget Committee, in reply to the question that JAPAN is not an independent country at present, Foreign Minister YOSHIDA remarked that, as the document of surrender stated, as long as the Allied Forces occupy JAPAN, she is considered to lack the form of an independent country. She has not, therefore, completely restored her sovereignty, and she is not independent.

This dialogue may not always be meaningless to the general public. In brief, we can only say that it is not a question of whether JAPAN's sovereignty is subordinated to General MacARTHUR's Headquarters, because her domestic sovereignty is so incomplete at present.

One of the items of the POTSDAM Declaration says that JAPAN's sovereignty must be bounded by HONSHU, HOKKAIDO, KYUSHU, SHIKOKU, and other small islands. JAPAN, however, will not have sovereignty over these Islands until a substantially peace-loving democratic government is organized by freedom of the will of the nation, and then, having trust and confidence in it, the Allied Forces are withdrawn.

FRANCE is the home of the word "sovereignty". It has been spread to the other countries since BEAUDIN took it up. According to law, it contains, as its principal elements, the right of law enactment, power of the proclamation of war and peace, official appointment rights, authority over the final examination and judicial decision, and mintage rights. It is obvious to everybody that JAPAN has lost sovereignty in this sense. So to speak she is not a supreme sovereign state.

However, this does not mean that JAPAN will be a non-sovereign state forever. It is possible for her to become a great sovereign state in the future, through the will and endeavor of the nation. If JAPAN is willing to be a permanent non-sovereign state, the Allied Powers may give her more positive assistance.

'Heaven grants an important mission to those who are in hardship' is an Oriental proverb, and Heaven helps those who help themselves' is a Western one. Anyhow, many difficulties lie in the endeavor to make JAPAN completely independent.

It is easy for us to live as slaves. We may believe that the Allied Powers will impose on us conditions which will lead JAPAN to become a sovereign state. The first revolution in the history of JAPAN has been now carried out. Revolution has two types: One is coup detat which is performed by the upper class, another is a common one by the lower class. But the revolution in JAPAN is a new one causeu by external power.

It is wrong to confuse sovereignty with the national constitution, and it is wrong to think that JAPAN has lost Constitutional Law as a result of this revolution, To be sure, JAPAN has regenerated a new life, but this revolution is not one that would raise a new power instead of an old power. It is a process of gradual and methodical progress.

The Constitutional Revision, which makes the Emperor System democratic, is not a mere 'amendment'. We must manifest the free will of the nation on the Emperor System in order to make JAPAN a complete sovereign state.

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EDITORIAL SERIES: 111 (Continued)

Full Translation:

Throughout the discussions held in the Diet the principles and policies of every political party have been clarified. They show no apparent difference in taking the practical counter-measures against the current issues, but they differ to a remarkable degree in their ideology, which underlies their organization, While the JAPAN Progressive Party and the JAPAN Liberal Party stand for capitalism, the JAPAN Social Democratic Party defines its position in favor of socialism.

The Japanese people in the general election in the immediate future must first criticize these two different directions before deciding for or against each practical policy of the parties. What is the liberalism which the capitalism of the present advocates as its basic principle[illegible]The term liberalism is abused and is not strictly differentiated from the liberty of the emanucipated people. This was granted them as a result of the end of the war, but it implies only an emanucipation from the oppressive admistration or despotism and no more. In other words, the Japanese people have at last been permitted to draw near to other democratic nations and to share freedom with them.

The question is whether we are to adopt liberalism or a policy of government control for the future. It would be premature to take the supremacy of capitalism for granted. Furthermore, how is it possible that the social political plans, which capitalism have taken up as means for improving its evils, can be applied efficiently in a period of such economic dearth as present? Under the capitalistic economic system, certain bounds are set to social policies. In a country like AMERICA where economic resources are plentiful, social political plans can be performed within these bounds, while, on the contrary, they will quite soon reach the bounds in our country and the people will be thrown into starvation. There we find already a step toward the collapse of capitalism. Its approach is becoming more close all the time.

Attempts may be made with the object of rehabilitation from such a sad economic plight, and they may assuredly be accompanied by some method stimulating production, but if they are allowed no control, they will change the society of such dearth into a scene of bloodshed, where the weak fall prey to the strong. To democracy, if it is to gurantee the life of every individual on an equal basis, there is open only one way - that is, a strongly controlled policy which will set limits to the liberal economey.

It may well be acknowledged that the socialistic economic system will decrease the wish for production or prevent the originality of individuals, but it must be also acknowleged that the pains effected thereby are more tolerable to masses than that which capitalism will cause. Now that the supremacy of capital is by no means the relief to our social economy, there is no way other than the supremacy of labor to combat the current situation in our country. All steps should be taken for stabilizing the livelihood of the masses, and thus restoring labor power, they should aim at the strenthening of resourses of production. To give these steps an easy advance, we demand the retirement of the capitalistic leading influences - a sweeping away of the present reigning influences. The defeat of inflation which threatens us with destruction will never be realized from the hands of the capitalists.

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EDITORIAL SERIES: 111 (Continued)

ITEM 3 (Continued)

Viewed from this standpoint, the old capitalistic economic structure should he scattered from its very foundation; it is the cry of the age. However there lies a reasonable doubt about the possibility of confusion if capitalism were replaced by a social economic system with its attendent community of capital, land, food etc. The platform of the JAPAN Communist Party may seem to have taken this fact into consideration, because it declares that the party does not necessarily deny capitalism. But it is clear that the tendency of the times is going from socialism. The collapse of the former, which the socialists cry is increasing in its rapidity as a result of the lost war, is unavoidable. A problem of politics today is how skillfully this transition can be brought into realization, and as the first step toward this, how to extend a bridge toward socialism by greatly reforming capitalism. Both the JAPAN Progressive Party and the JAPAN Liberal Party, though admitting the necessity for reformation of capitalism, lay down no concrete policy for this reformation, while the JAPAN Social Democratic Party advocates the establishment of Socialism through destruction of capitalism and puts forward state ownership of important industries etc. Despite lack of clarity in its practical policies, the JAPAN Social Democratic Party may be said to take its direction along with the demands of the times. Its political advances in the forthcoming general election, however, depend entirely on the character of the candidates, and on what practical policies it can get through to the people.

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