Press translations [Japan]. Social Series 0155, 1946-01-09.
Date9 January, 1946
translation numbersocial-0687
call numberDS801 .S84
Persistent Identifier
SOCIAL SERIES: 155
ITEM 1 Easier Methods of Building Houses - (Provincial Newspaper) Chogoku Shimbun (Hiroshima) - 1 Jan 46. Translator: J. Kinoshita
Summary:
A new method of building has been put forward by KOB YASHI, Teisure, chief of the
Building Section of YAMAGUCHI-Hon. After the
building of temporary houses for war victims is finished, the problem of permanent
houses will be a difficult one. The type of
house to be built in the future has not yet been settled by the Government authorities.
A mere repetition of the prewar made
of wooden houses will have to be avoided owing to the scarcity of timber. The number
of bombed houses throughout the country
is estimated at some 2,290,000. The demand for houses will exceed this number because
repatriates will need hones too. The
timber required at the rate of 15 tsubo (about 50 meters square) per house will amount
to more than 100,000,000 koku, which is
twice the amount produced during the war. The fact that wood is needed for other things
besides houses and the fact that an
excessive amount was felled during the war aggrarates the scarcity of timber. These
factors necessitate that wood for building
purposes be used economically.
The new mods of architecture proposed by KOBAYASHI is block building, which requires
less wood. The block may be either an
ordinary brick or a hollow block of backed clay is which is abundant in that district.
The block-built house is fire proof and
safe in areas not so subject to earth quakes and uses only half or one third the timber
required for an ordinary wood house.
The cost of building will not be high compared with the exhorbitant prices now asked.
A conventional six-tsubo house costs
some 10,000 yen in TOKYO. The mode of starting the block industry and the optimum
size of blocks need further study. The large
block, he thinks, may be more economical both from the building and the transportation
point of view. Moreover, the training
of a block-layer is easier and quicker than that of carpenter, the shortages of which
is hindering the present reconstruction
work.
ITEM 2 Borderline of Liberty and Libertine - (Provincial Newspaper) Shinano Mainichi (Nagano) - 1 Jan 46. Translators: C. Gilbert
Summary:
Demands are made today for the democratization of Japanese Politics, Economics, and
Society, but, practically speaking from
everyday life of the Japanese, nobody seems to know just whet a democratic form of
lifeis. The crucial point seems to be that
liberty without responsibility is no god. Liberty which injures the liberty of others
is definitely harmful. Without self
respect and responsibility there can be no true democracy.
The Japanese must be taught the difference between liberty and libertinism. Without
a sense of responsibility for one's
actions, there can be no democratic of life. As a result of the mixup of terms by
the TOJO Cabinet for propaganda purposes,
the majority of Japanese today think that individuality and selfishness are the same
thing.
SOCIAL SERIES 155 (Continued)
ITEM 2 (Continued)
In illustration of such confused thinking the following conversation may be recorded:
One men to another on the train, "Does
liberty mean that one can have three or four wives?" The other man "What are you talking
about! I have difficulty in feeding
even one."
Another occurrence which illustrates the point: An old man tries to sit down in an
empty seat in the train; a matron stops him
and, calling a fifteen year old boy from the other end of the car, makes him sit down,
saying to the old man "This is a free
ace, you know!" The Japanese must first learn to think correctly and independently;
otherwise true democracy and liberty will
be hopeless undertaking in JAPAN.
When one explains a co-operative association to the average Japanese, he will say"
Oh splendid, please do so!" never "Let's do
so"! During the war, the neighborhood organizations held air raid practice until they
received a directive from the ward
office; otherwise nobody thought of it. At present, the Japanese masses are just like
automatons; they will move in any
direction that they are pushed. In AMERICA, ladies clubs and churches work for public
enlightenment and education and teach
the spirit of public co-operation. This spirit of co-operation is, however, much more
necessary in poor JAPAN than rich
AMERICA. If the Japanese are not taught this spirit of joint co-operation, they will
starve.
The Japanese people are at present apathetic; the Japanese industries do not begin
working unless ordered to do so by SCAP
directives. In a sense this state of things is not to be wondered at under the lax
policies of the SHIDEHARA cabinet. In
conclusion, it can be said that it is not possible to point out the democratic forum
of everyday life by practical examples.
The democratic form of life rather consists of efficient leadership as well as of
correct thinking on tae part of the
individual.
ITEM 3 Speech Assembly of Tokushima Youth -(Provincial Paper) Tokushima Shimbun (Tokushima) - 4 Jan 46. Translator: H. Nishihara
Summary:
The Political Education Research Association (SEIJI KYOIKU KENKYUKAI) sponsored a
speech contest for young men in
TOKUSHIMA-Ken on 3 January at the TOMITA National School. After a speech by OKAJIMA,
chief of the TOKUJIMA Library to welcome
them, the following nine speeches were given: "When a Country is in a Chaotic Stat,
a Here will Appear," by OKADA, Jsunemi;
"On the Improvement of the Economic situations in Rural Area," by KIDA, Shigeo; "The
True Meaning of Human Life and the
Emperor System," by KISSA, Hisatero; "Give First," by HIRAMATSU, Isho; "Building a
New Japan and the Responsibility of Young
Men," by TOMIZAWA, Tsugio; "Rouse Yourself, Friends," by YAMADA, Kaneo; "The Establishment
of New Ideals in Politics," by
MIYAZAKI, Nobukatsu; "Come Forward, Young Men," by TAKAGI, Takaaki; "The Leading Parts
will be Played by Young Men," by
MATSUSHITA, Kikuo.
The speeches made a deep impression on the audience. At 1600, the contest come to
an end, and Mr. YOKOYAMA, the chairman Mr.
MIKI, Chief of the agricultural association, and others gathered to judge the speeches.
ITEM 4 Decreasing Birth Rates on Account of Food Shortage - Provincial Newspaper (Nagano) Shinano Mainichi - Jan 46. Translator: J. Kinoshita
Summary:
The prefectural census for NAGANO-Ken for 1 November is published as follows; Unproductive
age (1-13), 700,344 men - 33 per
cent; Productive age (14-6l), 1,254,109 men - 59 per cent; Post-productive age (62
and over), 165,119 men - 8 per cent;
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SOCIAL SERIES 155 (Continued)
ITEM 4 (Continued)
Increase in population as compared with February 1944 is about 174,000 (33 per cent)
in children, about 290,000 (30 per cent)
middle aged persons, and about 5,500 old age persons. Females exceed males in the
ratio of 100 to 84.9. It is remarkable that
macrobians above 90 years old have shown a great decrease since the previous census.
The influence of the present food
difficulties and inflation is appearing as a decline in birth rote and increase in
death rate, as in previous times of
depression.
ITEM 5 The Police Board and Crime - Tokyo Shimbun - 7 Jan 46. Translator: T. Ogawa
Summary:
The crime and fire records of TOKYO this year show the biggest figures the Metropolitan
Police Beard has ever seen. During the
period from 1 to 5 January, more than 10 cases of murder, assault, burglary, theft,
and fire were reported at the Detective
Section and the Fire Department of the Metropolitan Police Board. Investigations show
that there has been a great deal of
carelessness on the part of the victims.
Citizens must be more careful and must give all possible help to the authorities
concerned when whey accident occurs.
Vigilance Committees have been formed recently by neighborhood associations in some
parts of TOKYO. The authorities hope to
organize such committees all over the Capital and to give them the necessary guidance.
Speaking on how to guard against
robbery, detective A of the 1st Detective Section of the Metropolitan Police Beard
made several suggestions.
- 1.Inside the house: Do not keep cash, savings passbooks, and seals in one place. Make the inside of the house as dark as possible, and the outside as light as possible. Despite the lack of material, doors can be fastened securely with a little ingenuity.
- 2.Outside the house: Avoid going out alone if possible. When you realize you are being trailed by others, try to get rid of them as quickly as possible. Don't dress in such a manner that you cannot run. If you are caught, remember the characteristics of the culprits and do not disturbed any possible evidence in order to help the police authorities in finding traces of the criminals. Report the ease at once and give full assistance to the police authorities.
Fourteen cases of fire have boon reported between 1 and 4 January, including seven
houses, covering 387 tsubo which burned
down, and one use house covering 13 tsubo, which was half destroyed. The causes were
attributed to careless handling of
electric heaters, foot-warmer and overheating of chimneys. The majority of fires occured
in SHITAYA, HONGO and TOTSUKA areas,
in the raid devastated areas, and in suburban residential quarters. The Fire Department
is endeavoring to restore its prewar
strength. The farmer average time of 56 seconds which it took between receiving a
report and the dispatch of firemen has been
reduced to 26 or 30 seconds. We hope that citizons will report to us the outbreak
of fire at once.
ITEM 6 Crimes in YOKOHAMA - Tokyo, Shimbun - 8 Jan 46. Translator: M. Ohno
Full Translation:
Around 0800 on 6 January, a burglar saying "I came here to receive a New Year's gift
from you." broke into the house of
ADACHI, Kazuo of KOHOKU-Ku, YOKOHAMA. The family gave him 150 yen; however, dissatisfied
with it, the burglar took 3,000 yen
out of the cabinet and ran away. Around 2000 on the dame day, a group of four masked
burglars, armed with pistols and swords,
broke into the house of ISHII, Fuji of TOZUKA-Ku and stole 120 yen. Around 2110 on
the same day, a trio broke into the house
of FUKAGAWA, Kinichi, of TSURUMI-Ku and stole four yen. Around 0610 on the same day,
NAGANO, Shin, was attacked by two people
on the
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SOCIAL SERIES 155 (Continued)
ITEM 6 (Continued)
street of MINAMI-Ku and was robbed of his overcoat and 58 yen. Around twelve o'clock
on the morning the dame day, a masked
burglar broke into the house of KIZAKI, Shima, of ISOKO - Ku and threatened the family
with a sword, taking 590 yen.
ITEM 7 Crime - Asahi Shimhun - 8 Jam 46. Translator: M. Ohno
Full Translation:
Various groups of burglars and theives, who appeared in the southern areas of TOKYO
on the evening of 5 January, committed
many acts of violence on the night of 6 January, in the NAKANO and KOENJI areas. Three
man, one of whom was masked, broke into
the house of NAGASAKA, Joyozoro, of NAKANO-Ku and stole 85 yen; 30 minutes later,
YAMAZAKI, Hidomatsu, was attacked by a trio
on[illegible]a street in NAKANO-Ku and sustained injuries which will take two weeks to heal
completely.
Around the same time, a young woman, about 20 years old, rushed into the dining room
of YAMAMOTO, Nonosuke, of YOTSUYA-Ku,
crying, "Help me; two men are chasing me!" As soon as she had escaped by the back
door, the couple broke into the house and
found five go of sake. While they were drinking the sake, an M. P. rushed into the
house and seized one of them.
Around the same time, at KAMEARI, KATSUSHIKA-Ku, trio threatened a young woman about
20 years old with postols and tried to
rape her. A military Police rescued her and arrested the trio. Around 2300 on the
same night, a group of five thieves tried to
intimidate KIYODA, Kinsaku, on a street in NAKANO Ku. A policeman struggled with the
robbers; however, they ran off with his
sword. Around 0100 on 7 Janrary, a trio broke into the hero of HARAGUCHI, Ichiro,
of USHIGOME-Ku and bound the family with
ropes, threatening them with pistols and kitchen knife. They stole 30 suits, a watch,
and 800 yen.
ITEM 8 Nozaka - Japanese Communist Leader from Yenan - Yomiur Hochi - 8 Jan 46. Translator: C. Gilbert
Summary:
It is reported that the Japanese Communist Leader from YENAN, NOZAKA, Sanji, has
already departed from FUZAN. The Japanese
Communist Party is preparing a big welcome. The Social - Democrats are said to be
prepared to form a unified popular front
upon NOZAKA's return.
The return of NOZAKA, just at the moment when the SHIDEHARA Cabinet is on the verge
of a breakdown, is given the same
importance by Foreign Prees Correspondents as the arrival of Mourice TORREZ in FRANCE.
Under the ca able leadership of Mourice
TORREZ, the Communist Party has wan the support of the masses in FRANCE and has become
the leading political party, havin
established a cealetian cabinet. The question is what effect will the arrival of NOZAKA
have on JAPAN. The SCAR directive
excludedes the old ruling class from public office, and the Japanese people are new
demanding the f[illegible]rati[illegible]n of popular front. The leaders of the Social-Democrats repeatedly refused their
proposal by the Japanes Communist Party to form a united popular front, but the formation
of much a front programing despite
this refusal. An Associated Press report from KEIJO brings a statement from NOZAK
to the effect that he desire the coalition
fall democratic parties in JAPAN and that the personnally will work to the best of
his ability as a member of the Japanese
Communist Party. The Social - Bomocrat KATO, Kanju, declared in this connection that
he wishes to discuss with NOZAKA
intimately for a long time and has great expections of him, as he is well versed in
international matters.
YOMIURI * HOCHI has obtained a short biography of NOAZK as reported from YENAN. The
gist of the biography is what he selected
as his them
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SOCIAL SERIES 155(Continued)
ITEM 8 (Continued)
for his graduation essay from the KOBE Commercial University, when he was only 19
years old, on the subject, "Socialism."
After his graduation from the KOBE Commercial, University he [illegible]ntored KEIO University, where he was
second in his class and won the highest praise of Dr. KOIZUMI for his essay on "Revelutionary
Labor Union." When the Russian
Revolution occurred in 1917, his thoughts definitely turned toward marzist socialism.
He then went to England to study labor
unions, and when the English Communist Party was founded in 1920, he at once become
of the Party in MANCHESTER as the
Communist Representative for LONDON.
He was then expelled from ENGLAND and want to PARIS. In 1921 he went as a representative
of the union of Japanese Labor
Associations to MOSCOW. He then returned via BERLIN to JAPAN and took over the editorship
of "Labor," the magazine of the
labor unions," and at the invitation of the KEIO University, he gave a three-months
lecture course on the international labor
question and international social conditions. Among his pupils were NORD and AKIZASA.
In 1922 when the Japanese Communist
Party was formed, he at once joined it, leading the left wing of the labor unions.
He was then arrested in a Communist roundup
in 1923. When he was set free, he at once joined the underground movement and at the
same time became the President of the
Research Institute on Industrial Labor, in which capacity he edited a magazine on
industrial labor, called,
"International."
When there was a split in the Japanese labor unions, in 1925, NOZARA led the left
group and formed a conference of Labor
Unions. He then contributed to the editing of the magazine of the Japanese Communist
Party, "The Proletarian Newspaper"
(MUSANSHASHIMBUN). As a result of this activity the Industrial Workers and Farmers
Party (RONOTO) wen 200,000 vates in the
1928 general election, which was the climax of the leftist movement at the time, for
15 March a wholesale arrest of 3,000
Japanes Communists followed. He was able to obtain a parolo due to illness. In 1930
the control executive committee of the
Japanese Communist Party decided to send him as their representative to MOSCOW. NOZAKA
went to Moscow in 1931 and attended a
meeting of the executive committee of the Comiaterm, presenting a report on "the Situation
in JAPAN and the Missein of the
Japanese Communist Party." In 1935, NOZAKA was elected as a member and at the same
time President of the Central Excutive
Committee of the Cominterm. In 1936, NOZAKA then drafted the directive to the Japanese
Communist Party for the establishment
of a popular pert in Japan. In 1943, NOZAKA suddenly appeared in YENAN where he assumed
the leadership of the union for the
Liberation of the Japanese People.
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