Press translations [Japan]. Political Series 0185, 1946-01-15.
Date15 January, 1946
translation numberpolitical-0771
call numberDS801 .S85
Persistent Identifier
POLITICAL SERIES: 185
ITEM 1 Shidehara's Few Cabinet: Conservative and Ineffective - Asahi Shimbun - 13 Jan 46. Translator: H. Kato.
Summary:
A partial reshuffle of the SHIDEHARA Cabinet almost came to a finale Saturday evening,
when Home Minister and Transportation
Minister MITSUCHI, Education Minister ABE, Agriculture and Forestry Minister SOEJIMA,
Cabinet Chief Secretary, and NARAHASHI
filled the vacancies made by HORIKIRI: TAMAKA: MAEDA: NATSUMURA: and TSUGITA respectively.
Former Chief Secretary of the
Cabinet TSUGITA has started the careful selection of successors with new plan laid
down on 11 January and has already drawn up
the new organization. HARAHASHI was transferred to the position of Chief Secretary
of the Cabinet. The successors of outgoing
State Ministers were selected not from among party men and civilians, but from government
officials. A first framework of the
reformed Cabinet was formed by selecting Privy Councilor MITSUJI and Privy Council
Chief Secretary ISHIGURO by consent of
President of the Privy Council SUZUKI; the choice of the others continued as pre-arranged.
Thus this new line-up lacks force and freshness, resulting from not choosing members
supported by the masses of the people.
The SHIDEHEARA Cabinet is an interim one, and will be incompetent in coping with the
present nation crisis. The new line-up
may just represent no talent, since these successors are limited to those unaffected
by the new Allied purge order.
Meanwhile, scarcity of food and rising inflation have become more acute in this country.
The reshuffle of the Cabinet was to
be effected by gathering a new stratum of representatives of the masses into the Cabinet
in order to break the deadlock over
the present crisis. Prime Minister SHIDEHAPA has lost a good chance to take fresh
and forceful figures into this latest
reorganized cabinet, except for the new combination of ISHIGURO and NARAHASHI. However
Prime Minister SHIDEHARA decided on
successors to fill vacancies two hours after consulting with former Chief Cabinet
Secretary TSUGITA. The week-long Cabinet
crisis came to an undramatic fimale by the resignation of the outgoing State Ministers.
ITEM 2 Nozaka Returns to Stormy land - Asashi Shimbun - 13 Jan 46. Translator: T. Kitayama.
Summary:
NOZAKA, Sanji (pen-name, OKA[illegible]O Susumu), a leading member of the Communist Party in CEINA, who had
been making strenuous efforts in the anti-war movement and the liberation of the Japanese
in CHINA for 15 long years as one of
the leaders of the movement at the Headquarters of the Chinese Communists at YENAN
during peace time, the CHINA Incident and
the Greater EAST ASIA war right up to the present, came back to his homeland at a
time when the country was hit by the
directive ordering the punishment of war criminals and
POLITICAL SERIES: 185 (Continued)
ITEM 2 (Continued)
the expulsion of the militarists. He landed at HAKATA via FUZAN on 12 January. His
political ability is expected to play a
gigantic role in the direction of the Communist movement in JAPAN by the adoption
of an agressive method which is practical in
accordance with the Chinese theory that the Communist movement is permissible even
tinder the Emptor System.
The S.S. KOGANE-MARU with repatriates on board from KOREA entered the harbor of HAKATA
on the 12th. Among the repatriates who
were carrying on their backs as much as possible, was found a gentleman just alighting
from, the ship, lightly attired with a
hunting cap and an overcoat of dark blue color, carrying a small business leather
bag and an unbrella This white faced figure
was none other but Mr. NOZAKA, Sanji, who had come home after years' absence. Since
he left KOBE, where he had been released
on parole, his hair has turned very gray. His first words addressed to the pressmen
who went to meet him were:
"What has become of the Cabinet...?"
"It seems the Cabinet will be reconstructed...."
"Those who are possessed by a minister-hunting mania will be unable to do anything
with the present JAPAN."
As there was some time before the departure of his train, we went to a certain place
at SENDAI-Machi in FUTUOKA to take a
rest, occasionally casting a glance at booth keepers who were calling to one another
loudly. With the end of the war, in order
to hasten to his native land, NOZAKA left YENAN in September last year. Since then,
at ore time be air, and at another be
railway or on foot, he had reached HEIJO via CHOKAKO and CHOSUN, and KEIJO on New
Year's Day, arriving in JAPAN after four
months' journeying. What pleased him most of all were delicacies piled up on the table,
oranges among them.
Tasting the fruit, one by one, he remarked: "What will relieve JAPAN will be the
thoroughgoing demoratization of the country
as well as a drastic renovation of the economic organizations. Minister-hunting demagogues
of the Liberal and Progressive
parties cannot free JAPAN. We support a sincere union of democrats in the present
JAPAN. As a plain member of the Communist
Party I Will do my best in obedience to the plan of the Party. I am not disposed to
talk of the Emperor System. For the rest,
I'll give my opinion after I have met SHIGA."
Reading the latest issues of the newspapers eagerly, he started for TOKYO on the
same might. His wife, Mrs. NOZAKA, was left
in MOSCOW.
NOZAKA is 55 years old. After graduating from the Finance Department of KEIO University
in 1916, he entered the JAPAN Labor
Union, the President of which was SUZUKI, Bunji. In 1919 he went to England, and while
he was studying economics at LONDOM
University, he joined the Communist movement. For this reason he was expelled from
LONDON, and went over to RUSSIA. In 1922 he
returned home to his alma mater, and was appointed lecturer. His real intention of
coming home, however, was to make
preparation for the inauguration of a Communist Party in JAPAN. He was rounded up
in the first arrest of the Communists in
1923, but on account of his illness was released.
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POLITICAL SERIES: 185 (Continued)
ITEM 2 (Continued)
While he was recuperating at his home in KOBE, he secretly went over to RUSSIA with
his wife in order to be present at the
International Communists' Conference in 1935.
It was in 1943 that he went to YENAN, six years after the outbreak of the CHINA Incident.
At the beginning of the Incident,
SHIKACHI, Waparu went to CHUNGKING, and organized a Japanese Anti-War Union, while
SUGIMOTO, Kazuo, who went there from
RUSSIA, formed a Japanese Communists' Union, developing a Japanese liberation movement.
This Anti-War Union became quite
active and positive after receiving NOZAKA as its supreme leader.
Concerning NOZAKA's activity since be entered YENAN, an American critic, Andrew ROTH
wrote a most interesting article in
"Dilemma in JAPAN", published in September 1945, with the result that his existence
became vivid and alive as being a great
character of a new era. In the early period of the formation of the Japanese Liberation
Union, its members numbered about 500.
Out of this number, about 200 who possessed the resolution, experience and ability
to become staff members of the Union,
investigated and discussed fundamental problems concerning JAPAN, and made plans,
availing themselves of all possible
opportunities. Even before the defeat of the Japanese Army, the Union's plans and
the technique of propaganda were testified
to be most effective, and 80 per cent of the Japanese war prisoners came to accept
the anti-war idea. The Japanese Liberation
Union, as it was inaugurated at the time when JAPAN's defeat as inevitable, stressed
the importance of the post-war plans of
JAPAN. The nucleus of it was, of course, the Communists, the number of whom was, however,
not above 25 per cent of the
whole.
The Liberation Union received as its members not only Communists, but also non-Communists
or anti-Communists. But there was a
condition necessary for its membership. It was to admit the end of the war, expel
militarists and batter the status of farmers
and tradesmen of middle and lower classes; namely, to establish a democratic JAPAN.
About 3,000 Japanese soldiers were taken prisoner up to the middle of 1944. Of these,
350 soldiers remained in the Chinese 8th
Division, and the rest were returned to the Japanese Army after being kindly treated
and even given travelling expenses.
ITEM 3 Personnel lacks new life entirely. Education Minister Abe is popular. - The Mainichi - 13 Jan 46. Translator: S. Hirata.
Extracts:
As the informal negotiations by the government for choosing candidates had been already
going on for a few days, the Cabinet
reform proceeded comparatively well on Saturday when it began to be much noised abroad.
The former agriculture Minister
MATSUMURA, as envoy, already negotiated with Mr. MITSUCHI, Chuzo, on Thursday evening
for giving him the post of Home Minister
which is the main problem of the present reform. Early on Friday his definite answer
was secured at the former's second,
visit. His post as minister of two offices has been brought about because of his experience
as Railway Minister in former
days.
As regards the post of Agriculture Minister, some recommended Mr. KAWAI, Ryosei,
present Vice-Minister, and some Mr. ISHIGURO,
Takeshige, Chief Secretary of the Privy Council, on the ground that he was once an
official of that Ministry. However, an
objection came up against Mr. KAWAI from the Cabinet and his name was struck out
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POLITICAL- SERIES: 185 (Continued)
IMEM 3 (Continued)
from the canditdates' list. Such was the case with Mr. ISHIGURO. Later there appeared
unexpectedly a certain Mr. SOEJIMA,
Chihachi, who was long before an official of the Commerce and Industry Ministry and
afterwards the Vice-President of Nippon
Policy Exchange. The general public is not familiar with his name and it is quite
problematical whether he will be able to
tide over the present momentous food crisis or not. His appointment is quite unpopular
everywhere.
From the beginning, Mr. NARAHASHI has been considered as Chief Secretary of the Cabinet.
It has also been decided long before
that he would invite Mr. TAJIRI, Aigi as Vice-Secretary. The personnel for Mr. ISHIGURO,
who is the Director of the Cabinet
Board of Legislation, has been decided by Mr. NARAHASHI's direct negotiation with
Baron SUZUKI, President of the Privy
Council. Education Minister ABE has already been reported several times as a candidate.
His ability being much esteemed, some
say he should be reserved, for the future Cabinet. At any rate he is very popular.
ITEM 4 Three Emancipators: Yamada. Umeda, and Mori - Asahi Shimbun - 14 Jan 46. Translator: S. Kawasaki.
Full Translation:
Mr. NOZAKA, Sanji, has come back to his native land, having returned from CHINA with
three young men all of whom were captured
by the 8th Route Army (HACHI-RO-GUN), and who were subsequently engaged in working
toward Japanese Emancipation. Their names
are YAMADA, Ichiro, UMMDA, Terubumi, and MORI, Ken. They were the leaders of the YENAN
Industrial and Agricultural School. All
have suffered hardships as a result of their ideas, having been captured as soldiers
or civilians in military service by the
8th Army, which was hostile in those days. Since then they have successfully overcome
all difficulties and have tided over
many crises.
MORI, Ken, comes from KOTEI-Cho, FUKUOKO-Ken, is a graduate of IIZUKA Commercial
School, and a former employee of the
MANCHURIA Railway Company Ltd. He was wounded in the neighborhood of TAIYUAN, SHANSI
Province, and was captured by the 8th
Route Army. While teaching Japanese, he organized the Anti-war League. He was leader
of the Japanese prisoners who had been
captured and was in charge of the Industrial and Agricultural School.
UMEDA, Terubumi, comes from. AWA-Gun, TOKUSEIMA-Ken, and is a graduate of KOKUSHIKAN
College. He was a corporal in the
Japanese army. In 1940, he was wounded during a battle in SHANSI Province, and was
captured, by the 8th Route Army. After
suffering from wounds for more than six months, he entered the Industrial and Agricultural
School in 1941. Upon graduation, he
became a teacher at the school and was in charge of a course in "political common-sense."
He preached the evils of the
militarists and the ZAIBATSU, the leaders of the war, and campaigned actively for
the construction of a democratic JAPAN.
YAMADA, Ichiro, comes from TOKYO Metropolis, a graduate of the Scientific Section
of TOKYO Imperial University. He was for a
time a practicing surgeon. In August 1939 he was wounded in SHANTUNG Province, North
CHINA, and captured by the 8th Route
Army. After a lapse of one year he prepared the Anti-war League, consisting of Japanese
only. He was engaged in propaganda
work as a committeeman in the TAI-HANG Mountain district, SHANSI Province and was,
at the same time, working as a surgeon at
the field hospital, of the 8th Route Army.
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