Press translations [Japan]. Political Series 0069, 1945-12-13.

Summary:

Among persons named as war criminal suspects by the Allied Headquarters, there are not a few who has turned huge war profits to their private use. Government officials and military men who directed the war, not to speak of leaders of the financial circles, have all received shares of the huge war profits.

With the naming of suspected war criminal, public opinion have been directed at their private lives with suspicion. It is four years since the outbreak of war on 8 December 1941, and now the sorrowful cries of starving people are filling the streets.

Newspaper reporters called at the home of General TOJO and at the homes of war criminal suspects in Allied custody in order to inquire how their families were now securing livelihood. As might have been expected of former Prime Minister TOJO, Hideki, who was the leading actor during the hey-day of the war, his wife, KATSUKO, fifty-six years old, is reported to be living in magnificent style. She has stealthily moved out of the "TOJO palace", newly built at YOGA-Machi, SETAGAYA-Ku, and has gone to live at the home of her parents, the ITO family at ATAKA-Kotoge, KAWASAKI-Machi, TAGAWA-Gun, FUKUOKA Ken. At her native village she lived in grand style as she did at SETAGAYA during the war. When members of a ladies' society gave her a small present, she returned a present of fifty or one hundred yen in cash. However, they seemed indifferent to her returning home this tine. The ITO family has had no visitors for more than two months since she came to live there. When a reporter from the FUKUOKA Branch of YOMIURI called on her, ITO, To, her mother, 78 years old, was grumbling that the villagers, who had previously worshipped TOJO as a deity, had changed their attitude without scruples when he was apprehended and delivered into Allied custody. Tojo's wife wearing a mompei, said that after doing two day's wash she had to rest a day because of the strain. She also showed the reporter two articles which were contributed by a woman in HYUGA, KYUSHU, which said, "Why don't you commit suicide?" or "May I tear you to pieces!" and "Though you will always be filled with sorrow try to be strong and righteous." TOJO's wife remarked, "All the letters from those who sympathize with me are fine, in style and handwriting, and reflect their culture, but those from people who accuse me are scribbled and scrawled. The world has changed quickly. Why do they now treat TOJO, who had been esteemed so highly, as though he were a villian?"

She did not say a word against TOJO's actions in the past.

"If TOJO is found guilty of war responsibility, he may have all his property confiscated to say nothing of ten million yen in cash. If

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so I shall support myself by taking up farming; my eldest son will carry on the TOJO name; my eldest daughter and third eldest daughter are established in other families. I will have my second eldest daughter adopted by the ITO family. This will expunge the names of my daughters from the TOJO family register." she said.

Summary:

The plenary session of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives on Saturday morning was devoted almost exclusively to interpellations put by NAKATANI, Busei, Independent, and the Government's answers to them. NAKATANI warned the Prime Minister that the latter's remark on JAPAN'S "actual power" in his Diet message was liable to be misunderstand, because such a phrase might easily be construed as denoting "military power" or suggesting power politics.

Prime Minister SHIDEHARA replied that in connection with "actual power" he had not meant military strength but rather the "peaceful nation's strength" in finance and economy. The Prime Minister recalled that when he was Foreign Minister, he once told the Diet that the basic principles of JAPAN's foreign policy were to insist on the legitimate rights and interests of JAPAN and at the some time, to respect the legitimate rights and interests of other powers. He said that for over twenty years and to this day he had not changed this conviction.

The interpellator then asked what democratic Government should be based upon. In reply SHIDEHARA declared that in JAPAN the Government must be run under the Emperor and through a Diet which reflects the will of the masses. When the interpellator urged the Government to inform the Diet of the progress being made revision of the Constitution, Dr. MATSUMOTO, Joji, Minister without Portfolio, indicated the principle by which he would be guided in revising the Constitution. Though head of the Government commission on the reform of the Constitution, he stressed the fact that he was expressing a private opinion. The four principles are as follows:

• 1.There shall be no change in the fundamental principle of the sovereignty and control of state affairs by the Emperor.
• 2.There shall be an increase in the scope of natters which shall require the approval of the Diet. As the result of such an arrangement there will be a decrease in matters under Imperial authority.
• 3.State Ministers, as advisers to the Throne, shall assume responsibility for the whole range of affairs of state and shall also be responsible to the Diet. No interference shall be tolerated from persons who have no responsibility in advising the Throne under the Constitution.
• 4.There shall be an extension of the liberties and rights of the people. The people will be protected from the danger, to which they have hitherto been exposed, of having their liberties and rights restricted.

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Concluding his reply, MATSUMOTO said, "Democratic Government is Government based on the will of the people, according to Mr. NAKATANI. But Government by the people who happen to be in the majority tends to impair popular liberties and rights. There is need of a Government for the people. I personally think that these should be the guiding considerations in studying the articles of the Constitution with a view to revision."

NAKATANI inquired as to whether the Government will be ready to adopt the plebiscite system in the provisions of the Constitution. In reply, Dr. MATSUMOTO said, "In view of its grave importance, the revision of the Constitution must be studied with utmost care. It is difficult to adopt that as though a plebiscite system may be enforced, at any rate, considerations have already been paid to it in revising the Constitution but it is doubtful whether it should actually be adopted in the provisions of the Constitution. It is being studied fully by the Committee for examining the Constitution.

NAKATANI's interpellation concerning the repatriation of Japanese troops and civilians abroad elicited the following statement from the representatives of the Foreign Office and the First Demobilization Ministry.

"Communication from the KWANTUNG Peninsula has been almost entirely disrupted for a long time, but the situation is good according to recent reliable reports. Repatriation from there is progressing very smoothly and much better than that from the Manchurian hinterland. Evacuation from Central CHINA will be finished within 10 months. The Chinese troops are maintaining strict military discipline, and no cases of violence has occurred except for one attempt made at NANKING. The situation at CANTON, SWATOW, and AMOY is also good. In the vicinity of the YELLOW River, however, destruction of the TIENTSIN-PUKOW Railway and the PEIPING-HANKOW Railway by powerful guerillas is still going on. Sporadic plundering of Japanese is reported in TIENTSIN, PEKING and other cities."

"With regard to the repatriation of demobilized servicemen, a creditable report from CHUNGKING says that a considerable number of Japanese troops are in the Communist forces. Moreover, a staff officer who has recently returned from CHUNGKING made the sane report. In MANCHURIA, no military activities of this nature are reported. Between 14 October and 20 October, Japanese soldiers in SMARAN, JAVA, fought in self-defense "in a clash with Indonesian independence troops".

NAKATAKI then questioned whether democracy is incompatible with faith in the national polity. Education Minister replied that democracy is opposed to aristocracy and is never inconsistent with faith in the national polity.

NAKATANI also asserted that steps should be promptly taken to improve the social position of educators. He said that the local administrative system should be improved along democratic lines, parallel to the revision of the Election Law. Home Minister, HORIKIRI replied that the Government would submit the Bill for Extending Local Self-Government to the next Diet session. The Interpellator also pointed out that the inactivity of Diet politics during the war was one of the most important reasons for our defeat, adding that the Diet members who aimlessly obeyed the Government should assume war responsibility. He also

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questioned the responsibility of TSUGITA, one of those Cabinet Ministers worked for the drafting and enforcement of the War Criminal Law and other evil laws which deprived the people of their freedom during the war. State Minister TSUGITA replied to this query that it was not he who drafted the War Criminal Law and other evil laws, the object of which is the control of the right and left wings, which had gained power since the collapse of the SAITO Cabinet. He was only its advisor. The session went into recess at 12.18.

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