Press translations [Japan]. Political Series 0225, 1946-01-25.

Summary:

The NAGASAKI Local Committee of the JAPAN Communist Party was organized on 16 January under the leadership of Messrs. FUKUOKA, Junjiro, FUJIWARA, Haruyeshi, HAYASHI, Hajime, and KAWABATA, Kumao. Summary of their statement is as follows:

"We agree to a thorough diffusion of democracy and will co-operate with, any democratic people and body. If we do not sweep feudalistic influences completely from governing posts now, it is certain that a second HITLER will appear, and JAPAN will become a second GERMANY. We will fight for stability and the improvement of conditions for the working people."

Summary:

Everytime one sees the policies of the present SHIDEHARA Cabinet, it seems that everything in the Cabinet is done under the directives of General Headquarters. The present Cabinet is too slow in operation of policies of democratization. It is because the Government cannot satisfy MacARTHUR's Headquarters adequately. From the beginning, General Headquarters did not intend to rule JAPAN as was stated at the time of the occupation. General Headquarters intends to make the Japanese Government rule JAPAN by some means or other. Accordingly, the Japanese Government is the subject of rule, and General Headquarters is in the position of supervising the Japanese Government in order to promote Government along the lines of the POTSDAM Declaration.

Of course, General Headquarters is in the position of supervising the Japanese Government, so when the Japanese Government carries out important policies, there will be some cases whereby the Government should report them to General Headquarters and ask for its permission. It is unnecessary for every single detail of the policies to be reported beforehand.

However, recently, the Japanese Government has been striving to maintain former systems and has not been positively promoting democratization. Consequently, important policies are carried out under the directives of General Headquarters. The Japanese Government has totally lost its power. For instance, the SHIDEHARA Cabinet received a request concerning five main general principles from General MacARTHUR on 11 October, soon after the formation of the Cabinet. After that, the Government devoted itself to practising those five general principles as much as possible along democratic lines. However, in reality, such important policies, as the revision of the Election Law, the enactment

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of the Labor Union Law, liberalization of the Constitution, the management of the property of the Imperial Household, abolition of the soldiers' pension system, dissolution of the plutocrats, collection of war profit taxes, property taxation, and the abolition of Shintoism have, to everyone's astonishment barely been practised in accordance with the directives or the notices of General Headquarters. As long as the Japanese Government is not positive in democratizing JAPAN, the directives of General Headquarters may decide all the policies, and there is a fear that the Japanese Government may fall into a completely subordinate positon.

Contrary to the system of control by JAPAN herself, which the Allied Powers intended at first, JAPAN is in danger of retaining a strong militaristic color. In order that the Japanese people may set up a control by the Japanese Government and maintain the independence of JAPAN, they must remove the power of the old regime. It must be said that our important duties are to see to the establishment of a Government which will develop a reform power and which will be able to put into force the policies of democratization before the directives of General Headquarters are issued.

Full Translation:

To effect the co-operation of the Social Democratic Party and the Communist Party so as to organize a united front in HOKKAIDO seemed very difficult, but labor unions, and bodies under the guidance of both parties, have decided to co-operate with each other. They held a general meeting to organize the HOKKAIDO Labor Union Conference at SAPPORO on 20 January, and they are to develop a powerful co-operative struggle by uniting all labor unions under the leadership of both parties.

Extracts:

Proposal of Agricultural Unification by KUROTA Another Trial for Socialists.

Concerning the problems of agricultural villages and staple foodstuffs, movements for popular front are being actively developed throughout the country, with the formation of an agricultural laborers' conference in the AOMORI Prefecture as the first step. In the SAITAMA and OKAYAMA. Prefectures also, the same movement is looming on the horizon. Even staff members of the Social Democratic Party, who have shown a hesitant attitude toward the unification of a democratic front, are now unable to resist the ever-increasing urge for a popular front in the provinces; and they are obliged to admit a common front in agricultural districts, though they still hesitate to approve of that central cities and towns. Just at this juncture, the compulsory measures, which the Government has taken for farmers' delivery of rice and other staple foodstuffs, have served as a spur to that unification of a democratic common front in agricultural villages. This has led to the hastening of the formation of a single agricultural association, and the combining of democratic influences.

To cite an instance of this trend of a common front in farming villages, KUROTA, Koreo, who is a member of the central standing executive committee of the Social Democratic Party, as well as a leader of the

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former all-agricultural association in OKAYAMA Prefecture, published his proposal for the formation of a single agricultural union on 22 January. With KUROTA as a sponsor, FUJIA, Isamu, and ITO, Minoru, former staff members of the all-agricultural association, published a statement entitled "Appeal to all farmers throughout the country," effecting furtherance of the unification of a popular front in agricultural villages, and causing a great deal of repercussion in all farming districts. The intentions and purposes of their proposals for the unification of a popular front seem to be the development of the unification of an agricultural front into a single agricultural association, with the JAPAN Agricultural Association as a "mother-body."

The preliminary conference of the JAPAN agricultural Association, which is under the influence of the Social Democratic Party, has a single agricultural association as its final objective, so that it has no objection to KURTA's proposal. But here arises a question. The Social Democratic Party published a plan at the central executive committee meeting. It was proposed by the standing committee, and the gist of it was that the unification of a democratic front should be proposed after the general election. This plan, however, was amended by OKADA, Soshi, to be proposed "after the complete maturity of the subjective and objective situation."

Even before the general election, if only an opportunity for unifying a democratic front presents itself, the party will execute the unification. The truth is that the party had decided not to publish its attitude toward a democratic front. But suddenly KUROTA, a member of the central standing committee, showed a positive attitude toward the unification of a democratic front, and this clearly testifies that opinion is split on this question among the staff members of the party.

There had been in this party an anti-staff influence, led by AKAHATA and his colleagues. The standing committee advised AKAHATA to stop the anti-staff movement. However, in the case of KUROTA, his movement was not made as a member of the party, but as an independent advocate of the unification of an agricultural front, so that the party cannot advise him to stop his movement. Thus, the party attitude toward the statement published by KUROTA is widely watched with keen interest.

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ERRATA:

No. 904, ECONOMIC SERIES: 219, 23 Jan 46 should read No. 904, POLITICAL SERIES: 219, 23 Jan 46.