Press translations [Japan]. Editorial Series 0360, 1946-02-05.

Full Translation:

(A) It is said that in the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry and other Ministries the personnel associations have been organized for democratization. I am not satisfied with these organizations. I think that democracy consists neither of speaking on an equal footing from lower to higher officials nor demanding to transfer rights, nor demanding increased salaries. Democratization for you is to abandon the spirit of putting government above the people. You should testify this by receiving civilians of ability.

Your associations seem to have been organized for preventing civilians from entering government, offices. Even the recently established Trade Office has hardly adapted any civilian except MUKAI, Tadaharu. Your personnel associations are apparently organizations for the increase of your salaries. During the war, you illegally received tobacco, sake, and rice, and abused your privileges.

Unless you apologize; for this arbitrary action, we, civilian salaried men, can never join forces with you in the demand for the raising of salaries. As long as you make efforts to further yourselves or desire increased salaries under the pretense of democratization, you will become the focal point of public hatred. (From TOUN)

(B) The increased property taxation bills admit special deductions for war victims, but not for repatriates. Almost all the repatriates came home without their belongings. Some of them must live on a little sum of money which they had kept in our country. It is strange that they should not be treated as war victims. These new taxes seem to be effective even in blocking their deposits at the banks and association in the districts affected. This applies also to remittance checks. Only defeat and taxes await them on their return home.

This is not merely a problem of taxation. It so happened that the authorities revealed in the property taxation bill their cold attitude toward the repatriates. We take this up as a problem. The authorities gave to them only two pieces of bread, ten pieces of GAI SHOKU KEN (distributed tickets for eating) and a reduction in railfare. This is all the aid given to our compatriots who have worked hard and long in foreign countries. How could the government is! (From NAKAHO, Yosaku.)

(C) At the welcome meeting of the people for Mr. NOZAKA, Mr. MUROFUSHI, Toakanobu made a speech to the effect that a cabinet for the people is very necessary, with a gesture as if he were a leader in liberalism. Simultaneously, he called the Emperor by the pronoun of "he" (TN Does not show respect).

When the ne[illegible]order system was at its best, he fawned upon the powerful

EDITORIAL SERIES: 360 (Continued)

ITEM 1 (Continued)

and wrote a book, "Lecture on a New Order System." At the beginning of this work he mentioned, "I have supported a New Order System from the beginning. He explained at the end of the same book, "We should be unified in the name of the Emperor." It is our obligation as well as our privilege to defend our notional character. Did he forget this? If he now excuses himself saying "I am not a thinker, but a journalist" he should have written his book anonymously. He often called Mr. NOZAKA by his real name.

How superficial he is that he should leave a person whom he has worshipped! This shows him to be an opportunist. He was arrogantly smoking part of a cigarette made in a foreign country, when Mr. GAKUDO was a nouncing a message. I cannot help being indignant at him. The problem of opportunism is not limited only to him. But he does seem especially to be a representative of the opportunists. (From TAKAHASHI, Kinichiro)

Full Translation:

The Government issued, on the first of this month, a statement on labor disputes in the names of the Ministers of Home Affairs, Justice, Commerce and Industry, and Welfare. It was to the effect that, in the recent labor disputes, acts of violence, throat, and infringement of ownership are occurring, and that such acts henceforth shall be punishable. When one reads this statement, one is apt to think that the laborers are going too far in the matter. We believe from this statement, that the Government intends to give the public the wrong impression that this kind of illegal conduct is frequently being committed.

We cannot help wondering at the lack of seriousness revealed by the authorities in their treatment of this important question. If as the authorities claim, so many cases of illegality really take place, they should make public such facts in detail. Without giving the people the complete report of the real situation, they speak as if the recent labor disputes were full of these unlawful acts. Should this be the attitude of the Government which "desires the development and activities of labor unions?"

Mr. ASHIDA, Minister of Public Welfare, and Mr. OMURA, Vice-Minister of the Home Office, pointed out as an example the case of the TSURUMI Dockyard of the NIPPON KOKAN Co. However, according to our information, the truth is that when a group of employees visited the president for negotiations, he avoided them by running away where upon they ran after and caught him for the purpose of negotiation. That was the case. Of course it is not desirable for negotiations to be forced upon a person, but is it right for the capitalist, who holds the key to the life of the laborer, to purposely avoid negotiations? Suck events result, in many cases from the unfair conduct of the employers. The statement in which the blame is laid upon the employees alone reveals which side the Government is taking.

We must emphasize, once again, that one of the prominent features of the post-war labor disputes in this country is the laborers' demand for increased production as opposed to negligence on the part of the capitalist. Because of the difficult existence resulting from inflation, they demand a great increase of pay. At least, they are seeking to attain their aims by devotion to production, instead of adopting sabotage methods. In many cases, production has actually increased as the result of labor

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EDITORIAL SERIES: 360 (Continued)

ITEM 2 (Continued)

disputes.

If laborers are obliged to rely upon extreme conduct, its reason must be sought in the irresponsibility of capitalists. The government has never had to issue any statement against their irresponsibility or negligence in production. Concerning the labor movement, the Government maliciously issued a statement which propagandized a few extreme cases to indicate an overall trend. We venture to say that the Government itself is threatening laborers and scheming to interfere with them. In short, this statement intends to control the labor movement by misrepresenting the facts in the case.

This is probable part of the program of the SHIDEHARA Cabinet, which recently decided to take compulsory measures for buying up rice. If, in that time, our democratic groups had cooperated to fight against that measure, it would not have been followed by such a despotic act. The fact that the formation of a united front of laborers and farmers is delayed allows the cabinet to develop its ambition for the exercise of coercive measures and leads to social unrest. We must bear in mind that the reactionary SHIDEHARA Cabinet is seeking the opportunity to exercise coercive measures and that the only method to check it is to form immediately a united democratic front.

Full Translation:

We have heard that the tens of thousands of the spirits of the war dead which should have been enshrined to the YASUKUNI Shrine still remain without a shrine. It is a fact that less people visit the YASUKUNI Shrine, the MEIJI Shrine and the KASHIWARA Shrine these days. To put it bluntly it seems to show a frivolous side of the Japanese.

However, if we think about it rationally, our life had too much relationship with the gods. We cannot blame those who have been enrolled among the gods, but those who were superstitious are culpable. It is similar to the relationship between a primitive faith and a medicine man. We can think that the allegiance to the gods in our country has its origin in the primitive days and not in the feudalistic system. However, every civilized religion has a similar factor. This religion will never leave us if we do not understand the true meaning of life, sickness, or death since human beings came to exist, and we have to depend upon superhuman ideas to form cur character.

If a shrine belongs to a religion, one who does not believe in the religion will not be allowed to visit the shrine. MORI, Yurei and HIRAO, Hachisaburo, the late Ministers of Education, once raised a question about a visit to the ISE Shrine. We do not know whether they are now in heaven or hell, but what do they think of the recent decision announced by the Minister of Education?

DISTRIBUTION "X"

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