Press translations [Japan]. Social Series 0157, 1946-12-10.

Full translation:

A directive from General Headquarters on 31 December abolished school courses in history, morals, and geography which taught children the mythical origins of the country and the superiority of the Japanese race. In this connection, NAGANO, Tomihisa, a teacher in the DAISAN School at KOCHI, stated:

"The so called Japanese spirit is taught to children through school courses in morals, history, and geography. The directive deals a fatal blow to our teaching standards on these subjects, but a new democratic Japanese spirit will be surely established. Formerly, education in politics and economies was not given in the national schools, out now it will be different. It is important to teach facts.

"When I related the myth of 'The Rabbit and the Sharks', a boy asked, 'Can a rabbit and a shark speak in the language of men' I was embarrassed. We must tell stories which are rational to a child's mentality.

"There are other contradictions in our former ways of teaching. For instance, a child may write a good essay on being a good son in an examination, but in actual life the child may behave quite differently. Such anomalies as this existed in our old methods of teaching, especially in morals. We must reconsider our former methods in such cases."

Summary:

The police are aware that public order has been affected by the recent crime wave, but the special patrol measures of the police have already shown good results, Quite a number of crimes have no doubt been prevented and the number of arrests has also increased.

Efforts are being made to improve the quality of the Japanese police and - also to better their treatment. The question of arming the Japanese police with pistols and of cooperating with the American MPs has been taken up with MacARTHUR's Headquarters. If foreign nationals break Japanese 1aws sanctioned by the Allies or commit criminal offenses, they will also be punished.

Full translation:

SOCIAL SERIES: 157 (Continued)

ITEM 3 (Continued)

lately several persons have stolen into Occupation Troops' barracks to steal things there. In addition, many women are approaching the soldiers with the idea of prostitution. The commending officers of the troops have directed strong protests to the Japanese police office.

Therefore, the Police Office decided to examine for venereal disease any woman who ever had sexual intercourse with the soldiers of the Occupation Troops, no matter whether she is a professional or not.

Summary:

A song carries my mind back to the time when, on New Year's Day, I spent my boyhood peacefully in the country, and I have a vivid picture of my grandmother and mother in my mind. Years ago, a farmer who worked from morning till night used to enjoy his work and content himself with simple food and clothing and find joy in pleasing other people to whom he offered the products of his labor. What were the comforts of a New Year's Day for these farmers? On New Year's Day the family gathered at the fireplace to thank the god that they had spent the year in good health and talked peacefully about the past and future. These peaceful pleasures gave them the will to work in the coming year.

But according to the papers, the situation seems to have changed of late. The farmer aims only to have luxuries and beautiful clothes, obtained from profits of his black market dealings. They seem to have lost the art of finding comfort in a simple mode of living and no longer thank the gods for their good health. They aim at material satisfaction only, and forget spiritual contentment. This regretful tendency presents itself not only in rural life, but among all classes in JAPAN.

Up to now, the Japanese people have maintained that they do everything from the moral point of view. How their defeat is said to be due to the demoralization of the people. This should have made the people think, but they do not seem to have improved. First of all, we must do our best to rebuild public life on the basis of good morals. To achieve this, I want religious leaders and educators to play the leading parts. Under the influence of religion and education, public life must be revitalized and steps taken toward building a peaceful JAPAN on the basis of justice and love.

Summary:

That many swords have been found together with gems and bronze miriors among the finds unearthed from the ancient tombs in the province of HYUGA, indicates that JAPAN has long been a martial nation. We Japanese, however, have been stripped completely of all armaments under the terms of the surrender to the Allied Powers. This is the biggest change JAPAN has ever experienced. Incomparable hardships are ahead of us, and now we have to establish a peaceful new country with a highly developed civilization. We must take the path of democracy to reach, this goal. Needless to say, to change in such a short time the customs and habits which have been observed by our ancestors for nearly 30 centuries will not be easy. Accordingly, we must be very resolute if we are to realize this purpose. I will write chiefly on the reconstruction of our education, as it is impossible to describe in detail all the necessary measures to be taken in this short essay.

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SOCIAL SERIES: 157 (Continued)

ITEM 5 (Continued)

The Establishment of a Democratic Foundation

I wonder how Japanese servicemen who are supposed to be lo al and patriotic, could be so cruel as to massacre innocent peoples abroad, and so degenerate in their morals in the homeland. In short, it may be attributed to the fact that as individuals they are immoral. Those who have been mocking the individualism of the ANGLO-SAXONS, were the very people who lacked morality, and as such deserve to be scoffed at far more than the individualistic ANGLC-SAKONS. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to improve morality by living the necessary training to individuals, regardless of whether it be in JAPAN as a whole or in, one province such as HYUGA.

Indeed, the morality of individuals is the foundation of democracy. Opposed to this is self-interest. During the war, how widespread was self-interest: The cause of our defeat apparently lies therein. Self interest and personal gain to together. Those who were in public office achiever their selfish ends. Such trends have prevailed throughout the province. We must sweep away this evil as quickly as possible if we are to realize the reconstruction of our province, and make every possible effort to establish democratic foundations.

Reconstruction of Education

The reconstruction of the province of HYUGA should be centered around education. I regret to have to point out that education so far has been too bureaucratic and militaristic. In this sense, educators ought to share the responsibility for defeat. The cause of our bureaucratic education is to be found in the methods employed in the Public Schools, which are based on those prevailing in the High Schools. The latter changed its name to the University of Science and literature (RUNRIXA DAIGAKU). Being established in TOKYO and HIROSHIMA, these universities have been taking the lead in educational circles of JAPAN by competition with one another. University graduates of superior ability did not want to remain in offices in the Education Ministry because of the in competency of the Ministry. As a result of this the Education Ministry has become the stronghold of High School graduates, who have finally assumed the management of the Ministry. These officials have elevated public schools to the high school grade recently. The bureaucratic methods on which these schools are run is astonishing. It is inevitable that teachers who have been trained under such a system should become mean spirited and insidious. Drastic improvement must be made in order to effect the democratization of education. For this purpose the abolition of High Schools is essential. The principals of public schools should be appointed freely or by public vote, or an able man of repute in the prefecture should be nominated. With regard to the methods of education, it is necessary to encourage the student tendency to bury themselves in their studies and deepen their interests in their studies, it is so necessary to encourage them to continue their studies after they become school teachers. The establishment of a highly civilized country should begin with the influence of teachers on school children. As a matter of fact, primary school teachers in the farming districts have hitherto been ignoring this fact. These defects must be remedied.

For the democratization of education, it is necessary to obtain advice and criticism from the townsmen or villagers, and not leaving education to school authorities alone. The teachers may neglect or miscarry their duties owing to lack of advice or criticism. To prevent this, the people must be made aware of the benefits of education.

(to be continued) by SAKAGUCHI, Shiro.

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SOCIAL SERIES: 157 (Continued)

Summary:

Here is good news for the New Year: about 1,000 sanatoriums will be established shortly in our prefecture.

The rapid increase in population due to the return of demobilized service-men and repatriates following the termination of the war has produced an increase in tubercular cases recently. In view of the shortage of sanatoriums for these patients, the JAPAN Medical Treatment Society (NTPPON IRYODAN) is planning to establish 3,000 sanatoriums throughout the country. The establishment of 1,000 sanatoriums in this prefecture is also scheduled and the sites for these sanatoriums are being sought in all sections of the prefecture, including KOYU-Gun and NISHIMOROKATA-Gun. One site has already been fixed at SUMIYTOSHT-Mura, in MIYAZAKI-Gun.

The ABURATSU Hospital, which is located in the southern part of the province and is operated by the JAPAN Medical Treatment Society will be converted into a sanatorium from the existing combined hospital. The society will also combat tuberculosis by soliciting the cooperation of Dr. YOSHIDA, Chief of the Health Section of the prefecture, Dr. MATSUZAKI, Director of the MIYAZAKI Central Health Office, and others. The establishment of 1,000 sanatoriums is widely expected to produce remarkable results in HYUGA, since such a plan is the first one of its kind ever drafted in this prefecture.

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