Press translations [Japan]. Political Series 0107, 1945-12-22.
Date22 December, 1945
translation numberpolitical-0463
call numberDS801 .S85
Persistent Identifier
POLITICAL SERIES: 107
ITEM 1 Reformation of The House of Peers. (1) By Miyata, Mitsuo. - Tokyo Shimbun - 20 Dec 45. Translator: S." Kawasaki.
Summary:
The problem of the reformation of the House of Peers first arose when Prince ITO,
Hirobumi organized the cabinet as the first
president of the SEIYU-KAI Party about the year 1880. During the term of that cabinet,
a bill for collecting additional taxes
was submitted, and the House of Representatives passed it. The Upper House objected
to it, however, and it was rejected, As a
result, Prince ITO pointed to deficiencies in the system of the House of Peers. This
was the beginning of the problem on the
reformation of the Upper House. Many actual instances show that the House of Peers
was amenable in times of bureaucratic
cabinets, but fought against the cabinet, when a party cabinet was inpower. Since
the Upper House was an organization which
was invulnerable to attack, it failed the intentions of the people; which we know
very well from the history of the Diet. The
reason for the existence of the Upper House lies in its being the safety-value of
the Diet.
Under the constitution, however, the same rights as those of the House of Representatives
were given it. Deliberations of the
House of Representative on bills were repeated by the Upper House after passage in
the Lower House. Such facts show that the
affairs of state became troublesome and were delayed. It is well that the faults of
the peerage, the important element of the
Upper House, are recognized now. Such titles as prince, marquis, count, viscount and
baron are honorary titles, differing from
court rank in that they are passed on from generation to generation. The legal basis
by which the peerage has special
political rights, cannot be found. It is said only that the constitution permits this.
Under such a deplorable system, the first step for obtaining complete democracy out
of such a deplorable system is naturally
through the abolition of the House of Peers together with the Privy Council, which
are not democratic. It is obvious that the
Nation desires the abolition of the Privy Council, which has many old and infirm officials
and it is inevitable that the House
of Peers, where the peerage interferes with the politics of state, and where no true
democracy exists, is on tie point of
being wiped out by the remorseless tide of circumstances. The members of the Upper
house have no intention of reforming the
louse of their own accord. The attitude of the members is insufferable and the House
of Peers must be reformed from without as
follows: -
POLITICAL SERIES: 107 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
- 1.The name must changed. It should be called Upper House (J0IN) or First House (DAIICHI-IN).
- 2.The organization is to be changed. It must be chosen by general election, fixed number of members to be 100. Nominated members of the House of Peers will number 50. As for their selection, many selecting committees will be established. Moreover, a nominated members of the Upper House must be well-grounded intellectually.
- 3.One important function of the Diet is to act as a "safety-valve". When the opinion of the Government is different from that of the Diet on a certain bill, only then will it be re-examined. Matters which are referred to the Privy Council at present, should be submitted to the Upper House.
- 4.The session: The session of the Upper House and the House of Representatives, should open at the beginning of the year and finish at the end of the year.
Generally speaking, my opinions concerning the reformation of the House of Peers
are those mentioned above.
ITEM 2 "The Trend of The Times" by OZAKI Yukio, Part 2. - Mainichi Shimbun - 21 Dec45. Translator: Paasche.
Summary:
It happens again and again. Election candidates try to flatter and coax the voters
into supporting them with that power and
money they have. In other owrd, candidates tend to be come dependent upon those whom
they expect to vote for them. This will
never do.
As long as this political disease (prevalent in other countries, too) is not cured,
there will be no democracy. For this
reason it is essential to raise election funds by making everyone pay, say, 50 sen
a year. In western countries this works
satisfactorily enough because people will send money spontaneously, but unfortunately,
in JAPAN, people won't pay unless their
homes are canvassed. This is another undesirable Japanese custom.
If all amounts to this: the people must rely on their representatives, not the other
way round, But so for the people don't
even understand what is dependent upon their representatives. Essentially it is their
property and lives, so they must be
indoctrinated from an early age that they elect representatives to protect their own
interest. They know that their property
is at stake, but they are as yet unaware that their lives are equally at issue. This
must be changed, though it won't be easy.
However, if whole education system is basically changed it may not take too long.
How we coming to the question of world peace. If it is to be preserved, I believe
some kind of united world government must be
set up by developing and improving the former League of Nations. It must be realized
how small this world has become because
of the progress of civilization. In five days one can travel round the earth, and
in a few hours a person in any part of the
world can be reached by
- 2 -
POLITICAL SERIES: 107 (Continued)
ITEM 2 (Continued)
the human voice. Today the world is smaller than JAPAN was to us when we were young.
The world, divided as it is between fifty
odd states, corresponds in appearance to an imaginary JAPAN divided into over 300
DAIMYO-ruled territories. In other words,
ideological differences about nationalism and democracy must go. The world has become
as small as a house, and in a house it
would be foolish for brothers to wrangle constantly about their race and pedigree.
Foreigners thinking of JAPAN as a distant, inaccessible island, this prevailing opinion
enhances JAPAN'S tendency to become
isolated. We must learn to think more of the world and less of the state. If stress
is laid on the state, war will always be
the outcome, but at this stage of progress war means the annihilation of Man.
We were taught that patoriotism is a very great thing, but as a matter of fact, this
is not true in a civilised age; It is
true in a barbarian age only. Tribesmen rate highly love for the village, but in the
course of time, the clan tikes it's place
and clan worship becomes the order of the day. Around the beginning of the MEIJI Era,
the clan was still the object of respect
and the Nation was not yet born. There was a borderline between the SATSUMA and the
HIGO clans and when the rival clans men
met they came to blows. Only after the abolition of the clans and institution of the
prefectures did JAPAN become a whole.
Yet, the surrounding world was represented in the schools and in the homes in the
same hostile light in which the clans had
regarded each other, so that unnecessary wars were started in which all concerned
came to grief.
Since the last war, the UNITED STATES and her Allies know that they are in for economic
depression after victory. JAPAN got
the worst of it, but ENGLAND and AMERICA are badly off, too. This leads to the conclusion
that in the future no stress must be
laid on nationalist education. During the last war people began to think along such
lines, but later a virulent reaction set
in, climaxed with HITLER and MUSSOLINI, because there had not been enough pacifism.
We were finally caught in this net, too.
But this state of things must now stop.
To belong to no nation is still held a disgrace. Formerly it was dishonorable to
break loose from the clan, but the RONIN who
brought about the MEIJI revolution where just such people. Getting rid of nationalism
and working for humanity should enhance
the honor of a man nowadays.
MACDONALD refers to "a bum who is called a patriot" in one of his books. What we
need are "world RONIN". I coined the word in
a pamphlet I published at LONDON. There I stated that people without citisenship have
a big part to play in the shaping of the
world. JAPAN, author of the Manchurian Incident, has the greatest share in the war
guilt because she set a bad example. The
started things and is now the villain of the piece.
The basis for the new world is economic equality for all and a thorough open door
policy everywhere. Most people know that the
heavenly bodies belong to everybody; but the earth is believed to be the property
of various states. This is the great mistake
which must be rectified.
- 3 -
POLITICAL SERIES: 107 (Continued)
ITEM 2 (Continued)
The first task of a world union would be arbitration in all international disputes.
There would come the task of selecting a
world-language. Thereby money, measures, and weights would have to be unified and
standardized. Money has been the source of
the world's greatest troubles. These issues have to be regulated on a worldwide scale,
where as questions of everyday life
should be left to single national units.
ITEM 3 SCAP Directive to Restore to Released Political Offenders Franchise - Asahi Shimbun - 21 Dec 45. Translator: A. Kido.
Full Translation:
The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers yesterday issued a directive to restore
the franchise to all and the right to hold
public office to all political prisoners. The directive was sent to the Japanese Government
through the TOKYO central Liaison
Office. The content of the directive was as follows: -
The Japanese Government will immediately take necessary legal and administrative
measures to carry out the following
objectives. Persons falling under the following classifications shall have restored
to them the franchise and the right to
hold public office:
- 1.All those who have been ordered released from detention, imprisonment, protective custody, and/or protective surveillance in accordance with the memorandum issued by Allied Headquarters to the Japanese Government on 4 October 1945 under the title: "Abolition of Restrictions on Political, Civic, and Religions Liberty".
- 2.All those who, in violation of law, decree, ordinance, and/or Imperial edict, enumerated in the above mentioned memorandum, were detained, imprisoned, or placed under protective detention or surveillance and released there from prior to 4 October 1945.
According to the directive, the franchise restoration will be realized by taking
such necessary measures as the investigation
of the name-list, acknowledgment of late registration, removal of the conditions related
to the above, and by publication of
the directive.
DISTRIBUTION "X"
- 4 -
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