Press translations [Japan]. Editorial Series 0367, 1946-02-06.
Date6 February, 1946
translation numbereditorial-1152
call numberDS801 .S82
Persistent Identifier
EDITORIAL SERIES: 367
ITEM 1 Municipal Baths Recommended - Previnvial Newspaper Tokushima Sbimbun - (TOKUSHIMA) - 1 Feb 46. Translator: Y. Ebiiki.
Full Translation:
The Sanitary Section of our ken warns that as it gets warmer the prevalence of infectious
diseases is to be feared, especially
this year. Therefore all our prefectural people must pay special attention to their
own hygienic conditions and be careful
about their health. Of course, the authorities can take measures to prevent epidemics,
but cannot develop a movement for
increasing sanitary knowledge because they are short-handed. Therefore, each person
must take core of himself, and cautious to
guard against disease. Indeed, our people the ken, especially war-sufferers and those
who reside with them, are living under
terrible conditions, crowding together in small rooms, with scattered bedding, clothes
and what little things they have.
Before the war, however, the lived neatly, no matter how poor they were, and their
environment was in good order however small
their houses might have been. They are now quite different from what they were in
pre-war days. People have built their houses
among war ruins with the feeling that it is enough if these houses could keep them
from rain and dew. They did not take
ventilation or lighting into consideration, and seem to have neglected outside arrangement,
attention to personal appearance,
or sweeping and cleaning their houses. Even it the prefectural authorities do not
warn us, any layman should be sufficiently
aware of the fact that epidemic diseases prevalent because of heat and lack of cleanliness.
Already the number of those who suffer from lice or itch has increased among those
who live in barracks, in the halls of
temples and shrines, and even among those who are not war-sufferers. If this tendency
is left to take its own course, the
possibility of its being the cause of eruptive typhus and gangrenous disease may be
increased. Further, some policemen in
OSAKA suffer from eruptive typhus because of the lice in police cells, and smallpox
rages in KAGAWA-Ken, our neighboring
prefecture. If the propagation of preventive knowledge and measures to eradicate epidemics
is not carried out thoroughly, the
health of our prefectural people is expected to be affected. This is all the more
true with present food conditions, and
judging from the current conditions in farms, banks, streets, and houses which have
rapidly turned into hot-beds of disease
since the latter part of the war.
As for measures to be taken against epidemic diseases, there are such methods as
the increase of sanitary knowledge which has
been often advocated by the authorities in addition to the warnings issued by them
frequently. But these commonplace steps can
help us no longer, because no effect can be expected from the warnings or posters.
ITEM 1 (Continued)
Fundamental measures are most necessary, e.g. to provide the people with housing
comfortable enough to make them feel the joy
of living so that they will improve their way of living so not to breed germa. Another
is to guide the people in building
healthy houses, and to spread knowledge about preventive medical science. Besides,
there are such positive preventive measures
as eradicating the uncleanliness of their bodies which are the source of the spread
of lice and the outbreak of the itch.
Plans for thirty municipal dwelling houses and a plan for 100 houses to be rented
by the TOKUSHIMA municipality to revise the
city from war ruin and to help war-sufferers are well suited to the situation. But
this plan cannot satisfy the masses because
engineering work is not progressing for the time being. We went this work done as
soon as possible. The opening of municipal
bath service is desirable along with the settlement of the housing problem, because
the citizens complain that though they
wish to keep their bodies clean there are few public baths to serve them.
The plan for municipal bath service has already been recommended to the city authorities
at the meeting of the presidents of
the city's united neighbors association. Why does the city not carry out this plan?
Most citizens do not take baths for a
month or longer. The authorities must not condone such unsanitary conditions. If the
city authorities make excuse that this
plan may hinder the revival of public bath managers who have the right to run them
we recommend the following plan.
The difficulty of opening public baths in cities is due to the lack of boilers rather
than the fuel shortage. Hence when the
unhealthy condition of keeping citizens waiting till boilers are availables, and the
oppression of the public bath managers!
vested interest as running them are compared, the latter is preferable, viewed from
the general situation.
The plan we advocate is to run municipal public baths with electricity as the source
of heat. In this way we can avoid the
scramble for boilers, while surplus electric supply may be utilized and skin diseases
prevented. Suppose the municipality take
the initiative in running these public bath houses, if the enterprise proves to be
a paying one, the municipality can turn it
into a limited liability company which can be established by public bath managers.
The municipality is going to establish a medicine bath in the TOKUSHIMA Medical Office.
However, the plan to run at least two
or three public baths in each town must take priority over the plan to establish medicinal
ones which are useful only after
the disease exists.
ITEM 2 (A) The Will of the People (B) What is Behind from Seamen - Tokyo Shimbun - 5 Fob 46. Translator: S. Ota.
Full Translation:
Will of the People
A great obligation is imposed upon the representatives who are to be selected at
the coming general election. The Government
says that it will propose a Constitutional Revision Bill to the extraordinary Session
of the Diet after the general election.
Then new representatives must deliberate on this bill. It goes without spying that
revision of the Constitution is an
important problem not only for the country, but also for the people. Some think that
the revision of the Constitution is
revised, has no direct connection with the life of the people. It is very wrong to
think so. It is a serious problem
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EDITORIAL SERIES: 367 (Continued)
ITEM 2 (Continued)
which must he considered by everyone. Therefore, the people must he aware of platform
of each political party and opinion of
each candidate regarding this issue, and must criticize them.
Furthermore, the new representatives will deliberate on a War-Profit Tax Bill and
Property Tax Bill, etc., which will directly
affect the lives of the people very much. The people must know also what policy each
political party is advocating and what
opinion each candidate has in connection with these bills, and must give its own judgment
on these problems. Hence, great
meaning is involved in the will of the people which is to be manifested in the coming
general election. It is quite
unpardonable to renounce the right of franchise. Moreover, if we vote for someone
merely for our private considerations or
under the influence of the tactics of the candidates, it will lead to mistaken results.
The nation must raise its level of criticism and judgment. Moreover, each man must
have his own opinion. The problem of the
Emperor System is to be determined by the free will of the people. "Free will" has
been defined as meaning a "Diet composed of
representatives selected by a free, democratic election with as many eligible people
as possible participating in the voting
"From this point of view, it is obvious how important the free will of the people
is. The criticism and judgment of the people
must be strengthened, thus enabling the nation to manifest its firm will.
What is Desired from Seamen
How do seamen of our country feel when seeing the advertisements "Seamen wanted"
in newspapers everyday. We have been
furnished with many ships through the good will of the Allied Powers. There remain
so many disarmed soldiers and civilians
abroad who are longing fee repatriation, Their families and relatives are eagerly
awaiting the homecoming of their fathers,
brothers, etc. We hardly need mention these facts hero. If the seamen of our country
will consider these facts, they will
voluntarily get aboard these ships. We all remember that our seamen performed their
difficult tasks during the war without
complaint. In fact, their tasks were even more difficult than those of soldiers. It
is natural that every seaman hopes to
exercise his ability on a ship under the flag of his own country. But in the present
shipping situation of our country, our
seamen must do their best even under the flags of other countries. This may be said
also for the future situation.
Our seamen were hardly rewarded for their efforts during the war. We are sorry to
demand anew this difficult task from them,
yet we hope that they will be stirred by those circumstances end exert them-solves
to the utmost under the flag of a foreign
country. At the same time, we must be sure to give these seamen as much support as
possible.
DISTRIBUTION "X"
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