Press translations [Japan]. Political Series 0044, 1945-12-02.
Date2 December, 1945
RepositoryRauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College.
Call Numberpolitical-0174
Call NumberDS801 .S85
Persistent Identifier
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POLITICAL SERIES: 44
ITEM 1 How to Advance on the Way to Democracy - Tokushima Shimbun - 20 Nov 45. Translator:
K. Ketet.
Full Translation:
Already three months have passed since the end of the war in Greater East Asia. We
need hardly say that self-government of
towns and villages is related to the nation's welfare at a time when we are all making
efforts to restore JAPAN and to fulful
the demands of the ROTSDAM Declaration. Therefore, we're anxious to hear the opinions
of chiefs of towns and villages of
SHIMO-Nada and UMIBE-Gun. We suppose that it should prove very interesting, for there
are many newcomers.
Chief of AKI-Machi, Mr. IWAMURA, Kiyoski stated, "In post-war JAPAN we have to put
all our strength into protecting the
National Constitution. For that purpose, education will be greatly needed in the agrarian
districts. I am against co-education
in elementary schools. At present we need only a completely democratic education as
in AMERICA. It will be very hard for the
Imperial family to advance toward democracy but it must go along with the times, even
if it has to sacrifice a great deal in
the present period of reformation. In the meantime, there will come a day when men
like KOJIMA, Takatoku or TAKAYAMA, Hikokuro
will appear.
At present the food problem has become very critical. If this problem is neglected
there may be a riot by the farmers. We
should establish a sort of deputy association to supply food; I am attempting to accomplish
this aim at the present time. Much
is said about misbehavior of the military after the war. The problem is not that a
sergeant or a common soldier has brought
home a blanket. No, the fact is that officers, who had to be examples to their underlings,
have brought home many things,
mainly food, belonging to the military. After detailed investigation, from my point
of view, these elements should be punished
for the crime and, if possible, they should be executed."
Mr. IKEDA, Toyotano, chief of KAWAHIGASHI-[illegible]ura, said. "In the future, it is important to towns and
villages that they respect the people's feelings and maintain co-operation between
the villagers and the rice-supply groups.
Up to the present it was asserted that the will of the upper classes was impressed
on the lower classes and vice-verse, but
the truth is that only the will of the upper classes influences the lower classes.
This fact is obvious. Spiritually it is
necessary that we trust the leaders completely. Now, everybody wants democracy and
liberalism but real opinion, in general,
cannot be grasped, for they are still in the minds of the people. In Government circles
and among scientists the
democratization of JAPAN is demanded, but the lower classes must also move toward
democracy. If we do not move forward
together, there will be great danger that we will perhaps repeat our mistakes.
POLITICAL SERIES: 44 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
As for the food situation, the Government should formulate a practical plan but the
entire nation must participate in
overcoming this problem. Therefore, it is necessary that every one must be prepared
to produce by himself. This must be
carried out in the near future."
Chief of KAWAHISHI - Mura, Mr. NOJIRI, Shigeichino said, "As a newcomer, I want to
propose the following five fundamental
items: 1. Principeles to be observed by post-war leaders: face problems with sincerity
and treat the people with kindness; 2.
Examination of increase in efficiency and business. 3. Abolition of red-tape and avoidance
of misunderstandings; 4.
Co-operative reconstruction system; 5. Performance of duties with complete responsibility.
All people do not have the same opinion, and there will be, of course, some disagreements.
However, in the end, the policy
today is to act in agreement with the common people. I am charged with two duties
at the same time. I am chief of the
Agriculture Association, and Mayor of this village. I think this dual responsibility
is very desireable in a purely agrarian
village like mine. Many people have critisized this. Indeed since conditions very
in different towns and villages, all matters
cannot be managed in the same way. Those who have not yet been in touch with agricultural
management are somewhat cool towards
the Agricultural Association. As for myself I have been in touch for many years with
these problems so that I know every kind
of difficulty and hardship involved in agriculture.
In these extraodinary and unprecedented times of food crises the burden which is
laid upon the agrarian districts is serious.
I want all available energy to be put into the increase of food production with the
closest cc-operation between towns and
villages."
Chief of SHISHIGUI-Machi, Mr. NUMATA, Kojiro, said, "Our past policy was one of centralization
of power and it was centralized
only in big cities. The agrarian people did not participate, and the opportunity to
take part in learning was non-existent. We
must be a skillful nation in which the power is devided and the will of the people
freely expressed. In the future we have to
cast off old-fashioned forms and carry out a policy subservient to the desires of
the people.
In our town, different from others, there are fish, wood and an agricultural activities.
My intention is that these various
activities work in harmony. The forest administration must establish a practical plan
of self-government and must alter and
improve forest roads. The agricultural management must reflect the farmer's will.
The fish industry can look ahead to overseas
trade in the future. This cannot be carried out at present because of a lack of facilities.
Therefore, we must put our main
efforts into supplying the fishing industry with equipment and in constructing harbors.
Furthermore, it is necessary to care for recreation facilities and the educational
equipment of this town. The problems of
food and unemployment are very hard to settle even in the country. My opinion is that
this can be managed, well, if everyone
is willing to help."
Chief of TOMO OKA-Machi, Mr. KAHAOKA, Genji, stated, "Officials and the public are
earnestly advancing towards the
establishment of democracy but here it must be said that the democracy of our country
must be of a different form. We must not
forget that our nation's task is to protect the national constitution. During the
MEIJI Restoration the first steps were taken
toward democratization, but at the end of the
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POLITICAL SERIES: 44 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
TAISHO period we went back again to the feudal policy because of the corruption of
the parties and the victory of the
militarists. Self-government in the agrarian district was gone. From my point of view,
we must regain self-government.
The most anxious post-war problem in this town is that of food. There are but a few
rice fields which belong to this town and,
therefore, we are depending almost entirely on other agrarian villages. There can
be no other way. On the other hand, we can
catch plenty of fish here. So, my intention is to increase fish production. Nowadays,
a shortage of hands is not to be feared,
because of the huge supply of demobilized soldiers. The main problem is a lack of
implements, nets, ships and so on. The
Agriculture Department must take this case in hand and do something about it.
In addition to fishermen, there are only small or middle-scale merchants and industrialists.
It is necessary to hurry the
supply of goods and raw materials and at the same time abolish the restriction laws.
Then small and. middle-sized businesses
and industries will be able to expand. From now on we must all, as one great family,
face the crisis of the nation with real
democratic and liberal ideas. To fulfill this purpose, the citizens of my town must
be educated in a liberal and democratic
direction. Moreover, I think it will be necessary that our women get an education
along political lines."
ITEM 2 Requests Made To the Government - Asahi Shimbun - 26 Nov 45. Translator: T.
Unayama.
Full Translation:
At the Extraordinary session of the Diet, we hear that Premier SHIDEHARA's administrative
address to the Diet is the only
speech scheduled on the part of the Cabinet. However, our requests through the Diet
from the Government about home and foreign
affairs are many.
The bills for the revision of the Election Law, for the Agrarian Reform Plan, for
the Trades Union and other various bills
will be the centers for discussion. The newly created parties, which are counted by
the scores, will make ardent efforts to
propagandize themselves, partly in preparation for the coming general election.
The coming Diet must be the stage for outspoken discussions on various problems,
the existence of which former Premier Prince
HIGASHIKUNI's cabinet clearly showed but did not set about to solve.
People have clamored to have explanations and confessions of the responsible remnants
of the military clique heard, with the
object of revealing the fraudulence of the Imperial Headquater's announcements during
the war.
We wish all the people to proceed with the main object of examining into the past
historical facts, forgetting about the
merits and the sins involved and passing over the question of goodness or revenge.
To discuss such important problems as those
of reparations, unemployment, promotion of the welfare of people, reconstruction of
the damaged areas, demobilization and the
pension and retiring allowance, a session of 18 days cannot be considered two long
a period.
The report that demobilized officers are to be appointed as Ministers
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POLITICAL SERIES: 44 (Continued)
ITFM 2 (Continued)
of the First and Second Demobilization Ministries, which are scheduled to come into
being following the impending abolishment
of the War Office and the Navy Ministry, has caused disappointment among the people.
They have been thinking that a bureau
would be organized with civil officials which would wind up affairs pending the abolishment
of the two Ministries.
It is a cause for regret that the Government cannot break itself of the old methods
once and for all. It is certainly a rarity
to hear the fai[illegible]report that the Navy is now volunteering in preparation for organizing a court to
judge the cases concerned with the maltreatment of the prisoners of war. We desire
that the Army and the Navy have the
broadmindedness to establish a joint court of justice.
ITEM 3 The Objectives of New Parties' Campaign ([illegible]) - Tokyo Shimbun - 27 Nov
45. Translator: J. weiller.
Extracts:
The Objectives of New Parties' Campaign.
The Fight against the Emperor System by TOKUDA, Kyuichi.
JAPAN Communist Party.
The most fundamental question we are now facing is that the Japanese populace is
being exposed to the danger of ruin. The
cause of the aggressive war in MANCHURIA, internationally speaking was the weakness
of Japanese Capitalism during the world
wide panic of 1929; and, internally speaking, the intensifying of internal problems
caused by Japan's Capitalistic method of
exploitation, both in the country proper and in the colonies, under the Emperor system
and backed, by police force. As a way
out of this internal difficulty the military aggressionists of the Emperor system,
displaying their true aims, attempted the
aggressive action in MANCHURIA.
What did this aggressive war entail? It required the tyranny of militarists and.
bureaucrats and the enormous wealth
accumulated by both the new and the old ZAIBATSU in the production of munitions. Elated
by success, our ruling class turned to
aggression. Their encroachment on CHINA extended from North CHINA to FRENCH INDO-CHINA,
and when they attempted to invade the
DUTCH-INDIES, the war with AMERICA and ENGLAND broke out.
It is an incontestable fact that this is the way in which the war maniacs started
the recent world conflagration. Unless those
responsible are down away with, it will be impossible to establish a democratic, peaceful
nation. As already pointed out, it
is indisputable that the cause of the war lies in the militaristic and police controlled
Emperor system and naturally our
stragetic aim must be the overthrow of this system.
There is no need to mention that it is our immediate and fundamental duty to stabilize
and promote the national life as a
whole. The Japanese nation has had its means of livelihood so utterly destroyed by
the war that in order to obtain a handful
of food the people are obliged to work like slaves. Impossible prices are being asked
for underwear and shoes. Having no
decent home to live in some must either huddle together in a small room or take shelter
in a tunnel-like but. With the
shortage of foodstuffs there is an increase in both black market prices and the number
of unemployed. Army discharges and
repatreations are also increasing the number of unemployed.
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POLITICAL SERIES: 44 (Continued)
ITEM 3 (Continued)
Cultivated land, the basis of all food production, is becoming scarcer year by year
due to the extreme shortage of fertilizer;
and, according to the farmers, next year's rice crop will not yield more than the
basic requirements of all formers
themselves. With starvation in sight, efforts must be made to fight against this crisis.
Despite this appalling situation the
Emperor and his militarists, bureaucrats, landowners, and Capitalists are worried
only about their own preservation. They are
fostering an underground for the restoration of militarism, and they blame the Allied
Forces for the possibility of food
riots. Not only are they incapable of freeing us from present conditions, but for
the sake of their own preservation they are
oppressing us further. Millions of deaths by starvation will probably not affect the
mode of their living. Plenty of good
food, good clothing, and comfortable houses are theirs. For that reason, they are
neglecting the responsibility of guiding the
production of food and its proper distribution.
The Government explains to the farmers the urgent need of selling foodstuffs to the
Government, telling them that otherwise
the people will starve; yet the Government continues to neglect the production of
farming necessities. The Government is not
making any demands on the capitalists. The capitalists, their pockets bulging with
the enormous profits of the war, have
embezzled the food and daily necessities which should have gone to the workers at
the end of the war. Moreover, anticipating
the rise of commodity prices due to inflation, they think it to their advantage to
neglect such production. The Government may
encourage the farmers to sell food but it is unimaginable that farmers would willingly
respond because selling to the
Government is tantamount to being robbed. The farmers were very cruelly robbed during
the war and they are not going to put up
with this cruelty any longer.
Therefore we must, first of all, demand the transfer of food and other daily necessities
to the people's control in order that
they may conduct the distribution of rations. To make food control effective. We must
produce more by eliminating the sabotage
wreaked by the capatolists. Logically then we must establish the control of industry
by Labor, However this may not be
necessary if the capatolists make a sincere effort to increase production. The workers'
control of industry will be
instrumental in reinstating the unemployed, and it must be put into effect at all
cost to free them from the impending
crisis.
Next, in order to increase agricultural production, we demand that all the land held,
by parasitic owners; forest plains, and
other unused lands, be immediately confiscated without compensation and divided among
the farmers at no cost. Until this
project is realized, a reduction in rent and free use of non-utilized land must he
put into effect, lightening the farmers'
burden, on one hand and facilitating cultivation on the other.
Unless the above policies are put into effect, it is hopeless to solve the present
crisis: but the Emperor system, and its
military and bureaucratic control stand in the way. Our duty is therefore, to go on
to our objectives, fighting and breaking
through each obstacle. Our stragetic aim is the overthrow of the emperor system and
ultimate establishment of a people's
republican government.
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