Press translations [Japan]. Editorial Series 0237, 1946-01-12.
Date12 January, 1946
translation numbereditorial-0739
call numberDS801 .S82
Persistent Identifier
EDITORIAL SERIES: 237
ITEM 1 A New Political Problem - Provincial Newspaper Kahoku Shimpo (Sendai) - 4 Jan 46. Translator: K. Sato.
Summary:
Notwithstanding the repeated proposals on the part of the Communist Party to collaborate
in a united-front, the
Social-Democratic Party obstinately refused the offer, and consequently, the unification
of the Social-Democratic and
Communist Parties proved to be virtually impossible in the present circumstances.
Though the general masses are indifferent to
this, there is no doubt that it will invite a grave political misfortune in the future.
The greatest props and stay of
Japanese feudalism - mystification of the Emperor, militarism plutocracy, and gendarmerie
have all given way before the
successive directives of SCAP. Thus, in outward appearances, feudalistic institutions
were completely removed from the
political organization. However, the feudalistic attitude of the people is deeply
rooted in their minds as a natural
consequence of having long been deprived of free thought.
Taking advantage of the people's lethargy, the cold political parties are going to
plot again without resuming responsibility
for their past. In the present state of affairs, the influence of the old parties
is still firmly implanted. In order to
campaign against them in the general election, the organization of a people's front,
by unification of the left wing parties,
is urgently required. This organization, admitting each parties' principles and policy,
must be organized. The people in
general have begun gradually to comorechend the Social-Democratic Party. Due to the
oppressive measures in education and
thought in the past the people are afraid of the Communist Party as "a scourge of
humanity."
The social organization of humanity must alter according to special economic conditions
prevailing in its period. In other
words, human evolution is no more than a series of upheavals in the economic organization
of society. So, we must, at all
costs, root out the fear against change. That is why the Social Democratic Party ought
to do its best to collaborate with the
Communist Party with the purpose of forming a people's front. However, these who exercised
influence in the decision of
non-collaboration as the policy of the party were a minority of the leaders who should,
infect, be called to account as
war-criminals. Furthermore, the fact that the ordinary members of the party are in
favor of a coalition with the Communists
should not be overlooked.
As is generally known, in the last general election held by the government of President
HINDENBURG under the WEIMAR
Constitution, the GERMAN Social Democratic Party refused the eager invitation of the
Communist Party to organize a united
front. This led, in the end, to the opening of the portals to the Nazi Party and invited
the letter to take the helm in state
affairs. We should never follow this historical example. With this end in view, we
must maintain our political awareness. The
organization of a people's front is the most urgent problem in saving the Nation from
the present social, economic, and
political confusion.
EDITORIAL SERIES: 237 (Continued)
ITEM 2 Appeals to the Younger Generation - Provincial Newspaper Hyuga Nichi Nichi Shimbun (Miyazaki) - 6 Jan 46. Translator: S. Inoue.
Summary:
Responding to the voices "only you young men can save the country", many youths of
ability for their spades, left their
machines suspended their studies, and rushed to the front with swords and guns, and
fought valiantly. We harbor no doubt that
all of you had nothing but burning patriotism with no feeling of individual benefit
and egoism in your hearts. However,
victory took the opposite side in the war and we now face miserable defeat. Some of
you, we are sure, are very indignant at
the misguidance by the high leaders; some lament the corruption of the people since
the war, and some feeling angry at the
indifference of the masses towards you. Thus, some of you have become either misanthiopic
or rebellious.
However, young men, meditate for some moments the past and future of our country.
You must realize that the future of the
country will be good or bad in accordance with your efforts. Whether or not JAPAN's
resurrection will be hastened, and our
decendants prosperous, will be decided by your activities, Moreover, the way opened
before you is boundless and the stage for
your activities as broad as the sky.
With the realization of democracy, you will be, given complete freedom to study whatever
subjects you prefer, to make public
whatever opinions you harbor and the right to participate in political. You will become
an independent social bring able
t[illegible]judge be yourself and able to act freely. You will never be ordered to work arbitrarily.
If
young men like you study social affairs and go forward to improve conditions, and
if you combine with several tons or hundreds
and take up a positive campaign the realization of genuine democracy plus the political,
economic, and moral rehabilitation of
JAPAN will be brought about swiftly and easily.
An old proverb says "A loyalist comes from a disorganized country as a filial son
from a poor family. Out of the present
confusion, during which the rise or fall of our country will be fated, many a young
man, we are sure, will spring up and
endeavor to build up a new, peaceful JAPAN. We sincerely hope that this will be realized
in the near future.
ITEM 3 A. My Impression at the Beginning of This Year. B. The Emperor System and Its Nomenclature - Asahi Shimbun - 11 Jan 46. Translator: B. Ishibashi.
Full Translation:
A. My impression at the beginning of this year.
An epoch-making rescript was issued at the beginning of this year, and many persons
were received in audience by His Majesty
the Emperor, according to the news. Above all, I saw a photograph of him dressed in
plain clothes. I felt a warm spring breeze
in my heart. We, the people, still have, our Emperor even in defeat. The Emperor,
too, still has his people in defeat. As we
know, there are not a few who demand the abolition of the Emperor system. However,
I believe that our country will not, with
the Emperor, take so long a time to overcome the present difficulties and rise as
one of the peace-loving and respectable
nations in the world- with a democratic administration, to be established by mutual
confidence and veneration between the
Emperor and the people.
If the Emperor is divine and merely a figurehead to be placed on the shelf for the
gods, we do not necessarily require his
existence. In reality, however, he is on the same level as any human being. He is
an affectionate father of the people, and he
exists always in the
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EDITORIAL SERIES: 237 (Continued)
ITEM 3 (Continued)
people's hearts. Such an existence of the Emperor is absolutely inseparable from
the people's life. It depends upon the mental
attitude of both the Emperor and the people whether the Emperor system will become
the motivating power or an obstacle for the
democratization of JAPAN.
When he was the Crown Prince and went abroad. I recall how intimate and familiar
feelings grow between the Prince and the
people. It was not long before he succeeded to the throne. Those who were attending
the throne separated him from the people
in order to utilize his existence for their unlawful ambitions.
In the days of his regency, after he returned home from abroad, I saw him in an automobile,
taking off his straw hat in a
condescending greeting to the people. In contrast to this, I could not but feel a
sense of the ridiculous upon looking at the
guard which was maintained so strictly whenever he went out of doors after his accession
to the throne. Then the people, who
were anxious to see him, were driven away far behind the road, on which his automobile
passed. They were not allowed even to
see him. Since that time, it may be said that he was no more our Emperor. He was set
in a position far from the people's
hearts.
I believe that he does not want, to wield such great authority as was possessed by
the rulers of the feudal ages.
Nevertheless, even now there is a certain circle of people who are acting on behalf
of the old forces. They are absorbed in
protecting their own privileges by imposing an enormous authority upon the Emperor.
The true villains of the Emperor system
are those of the old school, rather than the Communists, who are crying for the abolition
of the Emperor system. To set both
the Emperor and the people at liberty, in the true sense of the word, should be the
first step to be taken to maintain our
national polity, which rust be complete.
It is a welcome when [illegible]non for the establishment of democracy in JAPAN that the Emperor system has
come to be discussed actively. The existing Emperor system is much too feudalistic.
Excluding a certain group of superstitious
men who believe in the mission of JAPAN, no one can stand for it. Even these who wish
the Emperor system to be continued are
bound to come out against its divinity and its unlimited privileges.
How should JAPAN react under the present circumstances? I think that not only should
feudalistic elements, but also all the
remnants of the feudal ages, be shaken off in order to lay the foundations for our
reconstruction upon intelligence and
rationalism without hindrances.
The Emperor system, if it is to be continued, should be radically amended and restricted,
because it is an existence
representative of the feudalistic, reactionary elements still remaining in JAPAN.
In this connection, I hope the authorities
promptly take some measures in the wording which is used concerning the Emperor and
his family. Not only is it feudalistic,
but it is fit to be called a relic of prehistoric times. The word "graciously" is
used from the beginning, and the succeeding
sentences are full of "ON". (an honorific word in the Japanese language). This can
be considered a characteristic instance of
the feudalism which still remains in JAPAN. Such wording should be abolished immediately.
Some of those who support the Emperor System say that as the obstacles between the
Emperor and the people have been removed
since the end of the war, they have come to entertain more familiar feelings towards
the Emperor. However, I think, the
greater part of them feel inwardly irritated at the considerably wide gap which, still
exists between the Emperor and the
people.
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EDITORIAL SERIES: 237 (Continued)
ITEM 4 Abolition of Economic Controls and Sudden Rise in Prices - Nippon Sangyo Keizai - 11 Jan 46. Translator: Y. Ebiike.
Full Translation:
Since the abolition of control on perishable provisions and daily necessities, the
supply of these commodities has been
increased, but the price of these goods has risen immensely, and the consumers are
forced to face the difficulty of living
caused by this sudden rise in price. "There are plenty of goods, but prices are too
dear", is the true voice of the consumers
recently. An ample supply encourages the consumers' desire to purchase. Thus, a price
which is already too dear is raised
again and again, until most buyers have to recall with longing past days of economic
controls when they could got goods
cheaply at the authorized price under a distribution system.
Indeed it is natural that prices of commodities should have risen suddenly much higher
than the former authorized prices, and
the prides of some kinds of goods should go down below the former black market prices.
On the other hand, however, it is also
true that the prices of some perishable foods have jumped higher than the black market
prices in the days of price control.
Consequently some people wish for the revival of economic control, attributing, this
sudden rise in prices to the abolition of
controls, but it is a view fundamentally unsound to regard the sudden rise in price
as the result of the abolition of price
control.
Of course the abolition of control on commodities aims at increasing production and
at promoting supply. Generally speaking,
this aim can be called a successful one because it is proved by the fact that aside
from some special kinds of provisions, a
great deal of products manufactured a long time ago and hidden during the war have
appeared on the market. Therefore the issue
remains in view of the fact that the price has risen suddenly in comparison with the
former authorized price.
Nevertheless, the inadequacy of attributing, this sudden rise in price merely to
the abolition of control is easily
comprehended, if we compare the present situation with the ease of wartime control.
In both cases the supply of goods might
decrease and a nominal quantity, not enough to fill our needs would be distributed
to us at comparatively low price.
The black market price would rise several times as high as that, at present, and
the consumers would nay more than they do
today to get what they need. Indeed the most fundamental point in reducing prices
is the increase of supply, which can be
attained only by the abolition of control except in the case of some special goods.
It is also true that since abolition of
control the supply of many kinds of commodities has increased.
Hence, this simple reason may not be sufficient to explain why prices do not fall
in spite of an increased supply. This
phenomenon, however, may be caused by such factors as inadequate transportation facilities,
the recent peculiar trend of
changing money into goods, and careless or too early abolition of controls. One of
the most essential causes is not in this
lack of planning but in the fact that notwithstanding the abolition of price control,
there remains production, collection,
and distribution still semi-controlled. Moreover, the commercial organization, at
present, has not yet emerged from its
dependent status, and under such a paralyzed commercial condition, we cannot expect
stabilization of commodity prices.
We have already mentioned the difficulty of avoiding a temporal economic confusion
after the abolition of control. We must now
seek the real cause which hinders the reduction in prices to another source, since
the goods supply, the fundamental element
in price reduction, has increased. Accordingly, those daily necessities whose production
can-
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EDITORIAL SERIES: 237 (Continued)
ITEM 4 (Continued)
not be expected to increase after the abolition of control, should be kept controlled
as in the past, but if we restore
control on all goods indiscriminately, taking only a superficial condition into consideration,
the situation will be
reversed.
MacARTHUR's directive, retaining controls on daily necessities, does not always mean
to revive such control as in the past. We
must bear in mind that MacARTHUR's Headquarters once clearly stated that control is
a final measure to meet an emergency.
DISTRIBUTION "X"
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