Press translations [Japan]. Political Series 0192, 1946-01-16.

Summary:

There was homecoming party for NOZAKA on 14 January in the Party Headquarters at YOYOGI to welcome the new leader of JAPAN’s democratic revolution. The event took place in the Editorial Room of the "Red Flag." Over 7,000 party members sang the "International" and the "Song of the Red Flag", after which NOZAKA delivered a speech elucidating his views on "The Communist Party of Tomorrow", substantiated by the experience of 16 years of exile.

"What struck me when I came here was the difference of the faces now before me from those I saw here 16 years ago. At that time almost all of us were young people and students. What I see here now are elderly and fully grown men and young women. As a matter of fact, before I came home I realized there would be few young people in the Communist Party on account of the fascist education system. Since you are the Party nucleus, I want you to stick together, but our party has become an organization compared with what it used to be. Up to very recently it was a propaganda body, yet now it has become a full fledged political party with a voice on politics, so all of you have to develop a new way of looking at things. In order to be a real, dynamic force politics, it has to be a people's party, a party of the masses, a party beloved by the people. It will never do if people go as soon as they hear the word "Communist Party". If they do, it will be our fault.

"If we survey the countries of the postwar world we see that it is the Communist Party that has the true support of the masses of the people. In FRANCE even the celebrated octogenarian painter, PICASSO, joined the Party. A revolution needs the support of the masses. Is quite all right for you to meditate on the past, passing judgment on yourselves, but your future policy must be based on a rise in the present intellectual level of the masses. We have no use for official manipulation of politics. What we need is the democratic people's front. JAPAN is now up against the danger of becoming a colony if things are permitted to continue in the present way. The broadest democratic front is needed to prevent this calamity and in rebuilding the nation of Central EUROPE. The popular front has prevented the nations from falling to pieces under the onset of fascism.

The term "democratic front" has a slightly more restricted sense because after the war the big capitalists and landowners fall away

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from the popular front there by bringing about a democratic front. There is no other road leading to survival for JAPAN, and our Party is at the head of this united movement of the democratic masses. The Party must therefore become a part of the masses, watching their every reaction. Our leader is TOKUDA, who has been through critical times for these 18 years. We need a new economy, new politics, and a new culture."

NOZAKA's personal name, which was up to now SANJI, will in the future be SANZO since it is easier to understand.

Summary:

On completing the reorganization of the SHIDEHARA Cabinet, new Chief Secretary NARAHASHI made the following statement on 14 January and clarified the Cabinet's decision regarding the solution of various problems.

According to his statement, the missions of the Cabinet are the conduct of the general election, the fundamental reformation of the system of Government, and the revision of the Constitution and the House of Peer's. The Government will settle the food problem and the stabilization of living costs in conjunction with the people by appealing for their cooperation. The mission of the reorganized SHIDEHARA Cabinet is to fulfill it's function as an interim cabinet.

At present, the first task for the Cabinet is to assist in the establishment of democratic polities by moans of the assertion of personal rights and the deprivation of remaining privileges of certain classes.

The interim Cabinet, which is based on justice and fair play is not of a temporary nature. That is: it has a special mission to assist in the formation of a new and peaceful JAPAN. When the dissolution of the military caste, which always misled the people in the past was accomplished, the bureaucracies which depended on that caste lost their importance. The political parties which were largely responsible for the defeat, are still influential, and the political influence of liberated people is not yet effective.

Though sharp comments are being made on the inability of the present Cabinet, it has passed three revolutionary bills during the past three months. The first, the abolition of political feudalism, which permitted personal rights in the legislative assemblies, the second, the Labor Union Law which aims at establishing labor's rights, and finally, the Agrarian Land Adjustment Law, which is revolutionary law for releasing farm land to the farmer.

Accordingly the first business of the present Cabinet should be the conduct of a fair general election based on the new election Law which grants personal rights in politics; that is, to conduct a fair election unhindered by impracticality.

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I sincerely hope that all political parties will win the confidence of the public. Candidates who come under the directive issued on 4 January must retire of their own accord, hoping for the success of the new Diet members. Thus, the democritization of the political structure will be accomplished.

The second obligation is to bring about fundamental changes in the attitude of officials. If all officials feel from the bottom of their hearts that they are the employees of the Emperor, they must also realize that they are servants of the general people. It is because officials think that they are a privileged class, that they are shunned by the people. They must awaken to the fact that these mistaken ideas are contrary to world morality and may be the [illegible]se of a bloody revolution. The SHIFHARA Cabinet is going to [illegible]arry out a revolutionary reformation in conformity with the democratization of the official system.

Thirdly where is the existence of a privileged class which refused during the war, to co-operate with the common people. This was one of the causes of defeat in the recent war. We must recover the dignity of our people by our own efforts and establish democratic politics without awaiting directives from MacARTHUR's Headquarters. It is to accomplish this object that the revision of the Constitution and House of Peers is to be carried out. These are the two most important duties of the SHIDEHARA Cabinet.

The above mentioned items make up the program which the present Cabinet is going to carry out for the establishment of a new JAPAN, but the most urgent problem now facing the Cabinet is public welfare. The present situation with regard to food, inflation, and unemployment cannot be ignored even for one day. The Government is going to overcome the crisis with the co-operation of the people.

Full Translation:

Since the food problem is very serious, we must make a new and effective move with the people's hearty co-operation. We hope also that local governments will work together with the central government. As to the present crisis, we are going to have a fair and just method of rationing. Farmers will offer their stores to the Government so that everyone will be satisfied no matter how short food supplies may be.

The food monopoly system will be considered one of the new policies, and the question of whether or not we must enforce this system in order to get the farmers' quotas is what we are going to examine.

Did we not make a mistake in fixing 150 yen per koku? Rice produced this year will be consumed next year. Therefore, there is no doubt that the price fixed this year will still have a proper value next year. When once a price is fixed it should be unchangeable; however, I think it is wrong to determine next year's price from last year's values. Is it possible to pay part of the price at the time the quotas are collected and settle the

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accounts after the price for the next year is fixed? From that viewpoint, 150 yen per one koku can be considered cheap.

Full Translation:

At the time of the SHIDEHARA Cabinet's reorganization, NARAHASHI, the new Chief Cabinet Secretary gave a talk. In his talk, he mentioned that the basis of this interim cabinet rests in realization of a fair and free general election, revolutionary reforms of bureaucracy, and revision of the constitution and the Upper House laws in order to attain free personal rights. He also saw that he would like to settle the people's everyday problems such as the food problem. He asked the people's aid, appealing to their sense of brotherly love. His resolve to settle these matters was well expressed in his talk.

He said, The reorganized SHIDEHARA Cabinet has the mission of exhibiting its ability as an interim cabinet. The first thing to [illegible]o, in the present circumstances, is to respect human rights and do away with the old traditional privileged powers. The interim cabinet is a maker of democracy, and not merely a provisional affair. The military caste has been abolished, while bureaucrats who relied on this caste, have lost their main support.

"Political parties which still have latent power in spite of their great responsibility for defeat, and the freed people have not yet concentrated their political powers. The interim cabinet has a special mission as the maker of a new and peaceful JAPAN."

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