Press translations [Japan]. Political Series 0241, 1946-01-28.
Date28 January, 1946
translation numberpolitical-0997
call numberDS801 .S85
Persistent Identifier
POLITICAL SERIES: 241
ITEM 1 A Stream, of Red Flags To The Official Residence of Prime Minister - Yomiuri Hochi - 27 Jan 46. Translator: S. Kawasaki.
Summary:
At the National Grand Meeting to welcome Mr. NOZAKA, Mr. TOKUDA, Kyuichi, member
of the JAPAN Communist Party, stood on the
platform, and the masses cried out loudly, "Let us go to the official residence of
the Prime Minister at once and urge the
Government to resign en bloc." The Red song was sung at the meeting.
The cries of a "Establish government by the people," and "Tide over the food crisis,"
[illegible]rang up in
HIBIYA Park like a storm. A trail of Red flags started from the Park, and there were
cries of "Come, and demonstrate, and go
to the official residence of the Prime Minister".
The members of the Social Democratic Party and the Communist Party, and the persons
belonging to other democratic unions,
unexpectedly gathered into one great wave, and proceeded to the HIBIYA crossroads.
The atmosphere was very enthusiastic, with
cameramen and the motor cars of Cine News and correspondents of various countries
throughout the world. It was the first and
greatest political demonstration that we have ever experienced since the dawn of JAPAN's
history.
The people of ITABASHI-KU shouted loudly, "Let's have YOSHIDA end SATO". The great
wave surrounded the residence of the Prime
Minister. Shouts of "make the incompetent Government, which has accomplished nothing
for the people since the end of the war,
resign as soon as possible," or "Establish Government by the people," made the windows
of the official residence cattle. The
representatives went inside, demanding a resignation en masse.
The names of the representatives are as follows: Messrs. KUROKI, Shigenori (the JAPAN
Communist Party) ; ITO, Kenichi, (JONAN
Labor Union Council); NASHIGI, Sakujiro (The Liberal Legal Corps or JIYU HOSO-DAN)
; OKADA, Bunkichi (of the Communist Party
Food Counter Measure Committee); SUTO, Suso (of The KANAGAWA Labor Union Council);
BOKU, Ontetsu (The Korean Section of the
JAPAN Communist Party); and SAITO (The TOKYO Communications Bureau).
The above seven persons entered into the official residence and interviewed the director
of the Legislation Bureau ISHIGURO.
They demanded "Details concerning the competency of the SHIDEHARA Cabinet at the present
time to deal with the food crisis,
and of the ITABASHI incident; the instant release of SATO and YOSHIDA; the instant
resignation of Chief of the Metropolitan
Police FUJINUMA as a war criminal; and the instant resignation in a body of the SHIDEHARA
Cabinet."
Mr. KUROKI explained that "we wish an interview with the Prime Minister". The masses
were shouting loudly "We shall not move
from here unless we see the Prime Minister."
POLITICAL SERIES: 241 (Continued)
ITEM 2 "Solidarity" Is The Way To Save A State From Dagger, Urged OZAKI, Yukio. In A Message To NOZAKA's Welcome Pally - Yomiuri Hochi - 27 Jan 46. Translator: H. Kato.
Summary:
OZAKI, Yukio, advocate of the protection of the Constitution, sent a message to a
welcome rally for NOZAKA, Sanzo, recently
returned from voluntary exile in YENAN. The message, read by OZAKI's secretary, was
met with thunderous applause at the rally,
held on 26 January in HIBIYA Park.
In his message, OZAKI stated, "The Japanese Nation must not descend to conservation
or seek novelty. If the Nation makes
headway along the road to democracy, there may be a very bright prospect for it. Our
country was defeated in the war, but
truth is inviobable and democracy embodies the principles of freedom. In order to
save our Country from danger, we should form
a democratic front, banding together under this principle."
The message, translated in substance, follows; "I welcome Mr. NOZAKA who has been
fighting for communism abroad for a long
time. Although I would like to see you personally on this platform, I am sorry for
being unable to be here because of my old
age. I am now eighty-nine years old and near to death. If I can be of any service
to the State and world, I shall spare no
pains in defiance of my advanced age. My good wishes for the Country will never cease,
and my anxiety if revived when I see
the Nation's plight before me. But a new age requires the energies of a new generation,
and on the occasion of this mass rally
a thousand emotions crowd on my mind. My political career covering about seventy years
has been a combination of tragedy and
fighting - my best friends died matyrs to truth. What a pity, that the Nation should
have been dirven to such a wretched
plight by defeat in war.
"Now, the Nation is attempting to reconstruct this country with the slogan of 'democracy',
which has been my political aim in
my life and a golden maxim immutable for all ages. If minor differences be submerged
for great common interests in order to
concentrate all the energies of the Nation on this golden principle, it does not necessarily
follow that the reconstruction of
this country shall be hopeless. If the Nation is forced to wake up to the sound development
of democracy, it can be said that
the Nation cannot fail to have a bright future. Our country has surrendered, while
truth does not know the word surrender, For
a state is finite, while truth is infinite. This finite state must be incorporated
with infinite truth, our present duty end
theme. Only those who can answer the theme are entitled to talk tomorrow. Truth lies
at your very door; Democracy is within
yourselves. Truth is in the hands of the people who fought for it, and it belongs
only those who died matyrs to it. It is
never the way to victory to quarrel over another's sphere of interests, to assume
a frivolous and fickle attitude, and to
follow another blindly. You will have to tread a thorny path, and you must not repeat
our past mistakes there. Democracy is
the principle of freedom and responsibility. Those who were emancipated from slavery
can talk democracy, and those who act on
their own responsibility can do so also. JAPAN was defeated. I feel as if I am treading
on thin ice. However, opportunities
offer themselves even in such a crisis. It depends upon the sound development of democracy
as to whether or not this country
can again rise. It is democracy to rely on each other and make mutual concessions.
Let me say again that the nation should
unite to overcome this national crisis.
ITEM 3 "Establish at Once The People's Government" Exclaims Mr. MIZUANI - Asahi Shimbun - 27 Jan 46. Translator: S. Hirata.
Full Translation:
"I made a cutting criticism of the SHIDEHARA Cabinet, when it was
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POLITICAL SERIES: 241 (Continued)
ITEM 3 (Continued)
formed, to the effect that it turns its face towards General of the Army MacARTHUR
while shoving its back to the very people
of our Country. The public calls this Cabinet an interim one, intended to serve until
the forthcoming election, and the
Cabinet itself seems to think so. We cannot permit the existence of an interim Cabinet
today when the people are suffering
from vicious inflation, which has brought our whole economic system to the verge of
collapse, and tens of millions of people
are likely to starve. In the name of the people of our country, we demand the instant
resignation of the present cabinet.
To our profound regret, mud-slinging has recently begun among the Communist, the
Social-Democrats, and the Liberal Parties at
a time when the present Cabinet being hit by the purge directive of SCAP, began to
totter and was on the verge of resignation
and reorganization. All of us must earnestly reflect among ourselves and apologize
to the people of our country for having
exposed our foolishness at a most important time, when the various democratic parties
ought to have been united for a common
cause, and we have thereby let the present Cabinet succeed in reorganizing.
Besides criticizing ourselves in this way, we should begin to campaign for the formation
of a democratic front. It must be
said that the return of Mr. NOZAKA, Sanzo, at this time has an important meaning.
We must be prudent not to overestimate the
ability of an individual person, but we must admit that we feel the necessity of making
an exception in his case. But who is
it that can solve the national crisis - the crisis of a whole race today There are
only the people themselves who are the
victims and the sufferers from the war.
It is the people themselves who can save their own lives. For that purpose, the people
should control administration, economy,
and society by establishing a comprehensive popular front or a democratic front. Apart
from this, there is no other means for
saving JAPAN. It is true that our Country was completely defeated, but defeat does
not necessarily mean the death of a nation.
Form at once the popular front! Down with the SHIDEHARA Cabinet! Establish at once
the people's Government!"
ITEM 4 The Counter Measure of the Commerce and Industry Ministry to the Labor Dispute - Nippon Sangyo Keizai - 27 Jan 46. Translator: S. Sano.
Summary:
The problem of the control of production by employees has interested everyone in
the industrial world. The commerce and
Industry Ministry gave the following opinions regarding the recent trend of the labor
dispute. They stated that the labor
disputes in the public utilities, like the mining companies, should be avoided; that
there should be some form of mediation
between the capitalists and workers as far as possible. At the same time, if the dispute
did take place, they should try to
settle it at once by compulsory arbitration.
The control of production by labor, as a measure for settling a labor dispute, cannot
be visualized in the Labor Union Law or
other laws. We are deliberating carefully on the measures for dealing with the problem.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry
is sincerely hoping to tide over the present industrial emergency. It desires the
earliest re-establishment of the various
industries under the Joint co-operation of capital and labor. The control of production
by labor must be prevented; but if it
must happen there will have to be some form of mediation between the two parties.
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POLITICAL SERIES: 241 (Continued)
ITEM 4 (Continued)
It will be necessary to demand cumpulsory abitration at once, as fares the public
utilities, like Mining companies or
Transport Companies, are concerned. As regards coal mines, specialists are required
on various technical points, and if labor
were to control the coal mines, there would be the danger of explosion or other such
emergencies. It is necessary to arbitrate
at once if control of production is assumed by labor.
DISTRIBUTION "X"
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