GENERAL ARAKI

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 131, 15 March 1933, Page 8

GENERAL ARAKI

JAPAN'S STRONG MAN. IS HE A MUSSOLINI? Though General Minami was appointed Minister of War professedly because he was a strong man there there are great events pending in Manchuria, no sooner was the conquest of Manchuria well under way than there was a demand for a still stronger man, and General 'Axa-ki succeeded Minami, says a writer in the "Manchester Guardian." Whatever the degree of his strength Araki never shirks publicity. Every day one sees in Japanese newspapers photographs of the Cabinet with General Araki very prominent in the midst:—Araki and his staff, Araki in the bosom of his family, or granting interviews to emissaries from Manchukuo, or meeting foreign notables—always the keen-eyed little man with a big moustache dominates the picture. Ho sees to that. His pronouncements are less frequent than his photographs, but ho is always ready to talk; and he is positive regarding the position in Manchuria, the need for immediate recognition, and the benefits that will result to everybody. Ordinarily the Minister of War feels the competition of the Chief of the General Staff, who is in many ways the more powerful man; but soon after the Manchurian business began Imperial princes were appointed as Chiefs of. the Army and Navy General Staffs—which is convenient, criticism, whereas, powerful though the Chief of Staff may be, one can say what one lilies about him if he is merely a general officer. So General Araki has a monopoly in speaking for the army, and he is said to be the idol and patron of the young officers' societies, one of which accomplished the murder of Premier Inukai—a crime for which'tho culprits have not yet been brought to justice. General Araki is also the idol of the ex-soldiers' associations, which are said to have a membership of four millions. / "Purifying Politics." "At the time of Inukai's murder it was freely given out that the deed was done as a sign of the disgust of the nation at the corruption and futility of the political parties. It was with these facts in view that we must observe an "exclusive" report that appeared in the "Kokumin" a Tokio daily whose policy seems to swerve between an extreme militarism and an outspokenness that sometimes looks like Liberalism. The "Kokumin" announces that the Minister of War is about to launch a movement for the purification of politics ; and to this end ho held a preliminary meeting at tho Military Club at Sudan, Tokio. There were present four army leaders besides himself and about a hundred other persons, including representatives of Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Okura and Sumitomo—the four greatest firms in Japan, who, all owe substantial proportions of their prosperity to contracts performed for the Government, particularly for the army. The rest consisted of good men and true, mainly ex-soldiers now prosperous in business. In the course of five hours' conference they decided that if something were not done Parliamentary corruption might seriously compromise the future interests of the State. To prevent this disaster they agreed to mobilise the entire force of the ex-soldiers societies throughout the country as well as that of financial leaders of military antecedents. General Araki expressed the greatest regret that the Diet was so little representative of the people who elect it; it is popularly called "monkey business," and it must be restored to a place of honour in the public esteem. Italian Inspiration. The means for doing this are very interesting. According to the "Kokuman," it was decided at the meeting that anybody desiring to present a petition to the Diet must first consult the ex-soldiers' society and then the young men's association (of which there is one in every village), so that only such petitions as reflect the true wishes of the people generally may be laid before the Diet, and only such candidates as have the true interests of the State at heart shall be returned to the Diet, all professional politicians being rejected. .. The "Kokumin" owns that the idea is not strictly original, but has an Italian inspiration. It describes briefly how the Fascists reformed the Italian Parliament and says: "From this movement emerged Mussolini." It did not consider it necessary to prophesy who would emerge from the new movement in Japan. The military authorities deny the accuracy of the "Kokumin" .report, and say that the meeting discussed employment for ex-soldiers. If the story is fictitious the writer was merely carrying a step further the ideas which have been sedulously promoted of late, and if he was sensational he was less so than the young officers who murdered the Premier.