Press translations [Japan]. Editorial Series 0252, 1946-01-16.
Date16 January, 1946
RepositoryRauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College.
Call Numbereditorial-0798
Call NumberDS801 .S82
Persistent Identifier
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EDITORIAL SERIES: 252
ITEM 1 Democratic Education - Provincial Newspaper Kahoku Shimpo (SENDAI) - 12 Jan
46. Translator: K.
Nagatani.
Summary:
In view of the imperial rescript issued at the beginning of the new year, the Education
Ministry gave instructions on 13
January to those people in charge of education and to prefectural governors, stressing
the impressive mission entrusted to
them. The imperial rescript asserted flatly that the relation between the Emperor
and the Japanese people is based upon a
false myth or legend and at the same time rejected narrow-minded racialism.
It cannot be denied that the rescript presents a clear-cut opposition to what the
Japanese militarists stressed end the
government authorities approved the past, especially during the war. Educational circles,
also, were subject to militaristic
oppression. That is, all teachers who were skeptical about this trend, were either
dismissed or bitterly abused as being
unpatriotic. The educational world in this country has been under militaristic suppression
for so long that, although the
above tendency was automatically extinguished with the end of the war, some remnants
of the past influences were left.
However, the imperial rescript drastically changed the past mistaken educational
policy and set definitely the course of
education in the future along democratic lines.
In the instructions, the Educational Ministry urged educators to fulfil their duty
despite various hardships in the future.
However, we cannot believe that these instructions are effective enough to make a
drastic reform in the present educational
world which has so far been controlled by militarists. Of course, it is easily understood
that school directors will formally
change their attitude in the face of these instructions. However, it is the passive,
obedient attitude of educators to the
authorities that may be the source of evil in the future. In order to eliminate this
tendency from educational circles, and
create an independent atmosphere, it is a primary requisite to sweep away outdated
slavish educators. For this purpose, the
Ministry of Education must actively support the movement for educators' association.
In addition, the Ministry of Education should show the relation between the present
rescript and the rescript on Education
which was issued by the MEIJI Emperor in 1890. The Constitution was put into effect
in 1889, that is, one year before the
imperial rescript on education was issued. This is liable to make us feel that the
imperial rescript on education is somewhat
connected with our efforts at democracy in the past.
However, the imperial rescript on education was issued during the reactionary period
against westernization in the early part
of the
EDITORIAL SERIES: 252 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
MEIJI Era. Therefore, the educational principles which were based upon the rescript
on education were by no means democratic.
At least it may be said that the educational policy in the past, was not established
in a spirit favoring the peaceful
development of this country.
Accordingly, educational circles are still in a fog. Even though the Ministry of
Education preaches to educators that the new
year's rescript should be the code for future educational policies, educational circles
are left in chaos, unless the Ministry
of Education makes clear the connection between the new year's rescript and the imperial
rescript on education.
Our review of educational history shows that education in this country has been biased
ever since the MEIJI Era, The
militarists and bureaucrats have utilized education to further the protection of their
own interests, Therefore, in order to
democratize education throughtly, the Ministry of Education should radically amend
the educational policy which has been in
effect since the MEIJI Era.
ITEM 2 A) Cornerstones in Building-Up a New ASIA B) Vain People and People without
Pride - Tokyo Shimbun
- 15 Jan 46. Translator: S. Ota.
Full Translation:
Bertrand RUSSELL once stated in his article entitled "Visiting ASIA", that "CHINA
is the heart of ASIA." We entirely agree
with him. As the disease of the heart always decisively affects the health of a man,
so the disease of CHINA, "the heart of
ASIA" has always throuwn a dark shadow on the stability of ASIA, Although a national
revolution was started all over CHINA
with the fury of a fire fanned by wind, the unification of CHINA could not be accomplished
after all. It was the rivalry
between the National Government and the Communist Party which hindered the unification
of CHINA. This may be called the
illness of CHINA. Since then, the political, circumstances of ASIA were always in
an unstable state, which invited a series of
important incidents.
We need hardly kick about the cause of the Manchurian Incident. The late LIN Pai-Shui
was of the opinion that it was nothing
but the conflict between the National Government and communists that gave a pretext
to the military cliques of JAPAN. It is
clear that the Sino-Japanese Incident had also a certain connection with this problem.
Moreover, it is a well-known fact that
the SIAN Affair accerelated the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese Incident. If we reflect
on the circumstances which led to the
recent great war, we cannot deny the international situation of CHINA as the "heart
of ASIA!. Thus we can see that the
"illness of CHINA", which greatly affected the stabilization of the whole of ASIA,
or which caused greater threats to the
peace of the world, lay in the conflict between the National Government and the Communist
Party.
However, the conflict which lasted for about 20 years is, at any rate, to come to
an end at last. For sometime, it was feared
that the conflict would spread into an internal war, concerning the problem of the
disarmament of the Japanese Army following
the end of the great war. However, the National Government and the Communist Party
agreed on a compromising policy at the
conference through the intervention of AMERICA. Moreover, according to foreign dispatch
of January, the political conference
is progressing satisfactorily after the issue of the order for the suspension of the
war for both Armies. The Communists
demand the establishment of an Associated Government, while the National Government
insist
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EDITORIAL SERIES: 252 (Continued)
ITEM 2 (Continued)
on the national control of the army. In the present situation, these principles ae
expected to be realized one by one along
the line of mutual co-operation although there may be some difficulties in these problems.
This will not only accomplish the
unification of our neighbor CHINA, but it will also mean a complete, recovery from
the "illness of the heart" of the Orient.
This is the cornerstone in the construction of the new ASIA, which will contribute
much to the peace of the world.
The stage of "constructing a new CHINA by defense", as advocated by Generalissimo
CHIANG Kai-Shek, is over. Now the
"construction of a new CHINA by peace" is to begin. They desire to remove the private
ownership of the army and the
dictatorship of one party. They aim at "thorough democratization", which gives us
many suggestions. We hope that the leaders
of each party in CHINA will do their best.
Vain People and People without Pride.
The number of unemployed in JAPAN totals 3,100,000, according to the Extra-ordinary
National Registration. This number is far
less than the five or six million estimated by the Welfare Ministry. However, according
to the investigation which was made
later, the true state of affairs seems very different from the result of the National
Registration. It is said that many of
the unemployed reported as if they had some job, merely because they hate it to be
known that they are unemployed. In other
words, their sense of vanity has made them do so.
Vanity is one of the powerful factors in the maintenance of social order. Yet an
excessive sense of vanity leads to such
results, and produces mistakes in establishing the policies. Hence, vanity must almost
always be forsaken, However, if it is
completely forsaken, a sense of pride in also apt to be forsaken. Such an example
is seen in those who are bent on
black-market dealing. This is a difficult problem.
Is there any policy which enables them to give up vanity and yet retain pride? If
we merely preach how to behave, the effect
is doubtful. After all, there is no either way, except to achieve a policy which enables
every one to eat. Nowadays the life
of the Nation is in extra-ordinary condition. Therefore, the policies must also be
extra-ordinary, and thus the distribution
of staple food and necessities of life must be regulated under the supervision of
the nation. The only duty of the present
cabinet is to manage the general election and take emergency measures. It must not
make the nation vain, but, on the other
hand, it must not make them a people without pride.
ITEM 3 Punish Paganish Financial Clique As War-Criminals - Yomiuri Hochi - 15 Jan
46. Translator: T.
Naruse.
Full Translation:
The democratic revolution of Japan will not be accomplished without a thorough investigation
of war criminals and war
responsibilities. The investigation itself is a process of revolution. War Criminals
have been found in not only the military
clique, the bureaucratic clique, and the financial clique, but all fields of education,
religion, etc.
Let us investigate the practices which deserve punishment in regards to the temple
of SHINSHO, NARITA, CHIBA-Ken. The
observances, which the temple authorities in question have been practising day and
night, are ones which are entangled with
superstitions or paganism, not
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EDITORIAL SERIES: 252 (Continued)
ITEM 3 (Continued)
by rightful religion, All of these queer observances such as a great holy fire for
invocation or for exercizing foreign
invasion, a divine tablet substitutes for one's life, a charm against bullets etc.,
have been openly practised not only before
and during the war but since the end of the war. It is needless to say that these
observances have no bearing on educational
science.
The temple concerned has swindled the so-called lower classes of properties and now
is abusing these paganisms or
superstitions, and reigning through the prefecture as a great financial clique and
a great landowner. The only power which the
temple wields is its great financial ability. Whenever the prefecture governors or
the head classes of a section change, the
said temple gives a parting present of money to them. And all of the money, which
cannot be paid from the prefecture's
estimate, are similarly presented from the temple of SIHNSHO. For example, when the
publication of small newspapers in the
prefecture had forcibly been discontinued and they had become Government organs, all
of the expenses had been offered from the
temple concerned. Besides, by the never-failing contribution to the prefecture authorities,
the temple authorities have won
over the police authorities, and they still have continued with their superstitious
evil deeds. On the other hand, to deceive
the public, they say that they have undertaken five great acts. What they exaggerate
into five great acts are a kindergarten,
a girls' school, a middle school, a library, and the Renovation Society (SHINKO KAI),
which they have been running. In these
schools or agencies, however, there is no freedom of education and no autonomy of
management. All leaders of these agencies
are concerned with the temple of SHINSHO. They have brought under their power all
the sources of expenditures, rejecting the
independence of these agencies and persons, and they have strong power to banish all
those who are against the said temple's
interests.
In these agencies, one of the most reactionary is the Renovation Society. Since the
year of 1929, the society has been
enforcing militaristic education at the Renovation Society School (SHINKO GAKUIN),
which was more reactionary than that at the
young mens' school. By taking in the boys who cannot enter middle school owing to
unavoidable circumstances, the Renovation
Society School authorities have educated them in a fashion similar to the military
training one year's course. Moreover, they
have set a connecting net in every quarter, appointing the principals of the young
men's schools and the magnates of many
towns and villages to the heads of their branches. Thus, they have forced their reactionary
education, holding various
meetings, lectures, pictures, and reading or publishing papers as a measure to promote
it.
Even if it is an exception to the other four undertakings, the [illegible]activities and organization of the
Renovation Society must be broken down because it is a hotbed of the reactionary forces!
They offered money and airplanes to
the Government authorities during the war. to co-operate with the military clique
and to instigate the war. On the other hand,
however, they must have earned vast war profits by the various queer observances mentioned
above. Yet they have no intention
of publishing a list of their own property and land; on the contrary, they are still
exploiting the people whom they have
openly dragged into the way of superstition under the guise of religion.
Such religious war orlminals are not only found in the temple of SHINSHO, of course.
However, they have no equal in the scale
and evil nature of their activities. The seizure of such properties, the dissolution
of such financial cliques, and the
prohibition of all such activitois should be the urgent need of the moment. (YAMAKAWA,
Mitsuwo)
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EIDTORIAL SERIES: 252 (Continued)
ITEM 4 The Old and New Powers - Mainichi Shimbun - 15 Jan 46. Translator: H. Arai.
Full Translation:
NOZAKA, Sanyo, a veteran Japanese communist who recently returned here, said that
JAPAN is now in danger of ruin. This word is
used by all social strata, to preserve their separate entities, and their old power,
and by the new and democratic influence
for the purpose of attaining its object. In any case, the fate of JAPAN is undoubtedly
hanging in the balance. One of the two
parties must have the wrong idea as to how to tide over the crisis.
However, it is not easy to decide which party can form a democratic front, the left
or he right. When the communists carry out
a great political and economic reformation of the current capitalistic system, as
Mr. NOZAKA mentioned, the formation of the
left democratic front will become possible.
If we consider the reasons why party government in JAPAN met with a sudden collapse,
we must feel that it is a very difficult
task to complete the democratic revolution. Although the reactionary influence is
cowed into silence, it has not become
necessarily feeble. If things take a turn favorable to the reactionaries, there will
be a good opportunity for a HITLER to
appear in JAPAN, as happened in GERMANY after World War 1.
In order to ban Catholicism, the TOKUGAWA Shogunate compelled people to step on a
copper tablet of the crucifix. After the
opening of this country to Europeans, the prohibition on foreign religious was not
removed, and the NAGASAKI Magistrate
arrested many Christians for heresy in URAGAMI-Mura and HIZEN-NO-KUNI. Over 3,000
Christians were livided among many feudal
clans, and those who had become penitent by stepping on the copper tablet of the crucifix
were regarded as Japanese
people.
DISTRIBUTION "X"
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