HUGE ARMADA OF SHIPS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 65, Issue 267, 22 August 1945, Page 3

HUGE ARMADA OF SHIPS

FORCES TO OCCUPY JAPAN PREVENTING HOTHEAD OPPOSITION (N.Z. Press Association Copyright.) NEW YORK, August 20. The Manila, correspondent of the “New York Times” says that a huge American armada of ships and planes will simultaneously disgorge forces on Japan, prepared to meet any eventuality in an operation as carefully planned as any Pacific landing. This will tend to prevent or counter any hothead opposition. A correspondent points out that, although the 10-day period mentioned by General Mac Arthur may appear long, it is calculated to assure the safely of aerial landings, because many airfields must be prepared. Furthermore, the interval can be employed to prepare the people, overwhehningly shocked by the sudden revelation of defeat, both generally and technically for the occupation. A headquarters spokesman said that, while representatives of all the Allied Governments will be present at the surrender ceremony, it is presumed that only American armed forces will comprise the initial occupation force, since the troops of other nations could not reach Japan in time. The State Department stated that Australian, Canadian, Netherlands, French and New Zealand representatives at the surrender ceremony will' be only observers, not active participants. The Tokio radio says the “Asahi Shimbun” urged the people toi reflect seriously on the grave mistake made in the past by following Government leadership blindly. The paper urged all Japanese in future to participate in the .Government, as it was the only way out of the present darkness and despair into a world of hope and reconstruction. The “Mainichi Shimbun” said the Japanese people, after studying oast errors, knew why their leaders were not suitable for the present.

The Tokio radio declared that a considerable number of Japanese military men resent the surrender. “Some hotheads may allow their emotions tp get the better of their judgment,” the radio said. “There is no telling what unfortunate incidents may occur, endangering the present delicate situation.” The radio qualified the gloomy picture by declaring that the Emperor’s rescript calling for strict discipline had ensured that the majority of military men would obey the imperial order and insisted that, even if sporadic outbursts should occur, Japan intended to leave nothing undone to enforce strict compliance with the Potsdam terms, which Japan accepted in all solemnity and good faith. The Associated Press pointed out that considerable Japanese military forces remain intact without the experience of actual defeat in battle and with their morale unimpaired. The radio added that to disarm and disband these units and watch passively while the Allied occupation armies disembark on Japanese soil may be too much for some officers. Thunderbolts fired on Japanese forces near Shwegyin and broke up an enemy encirclement movement of an

Allied guerilla force, says the Rangoon correspondent of the Associated American Press. This is the first action against the Japanese since Lord Louis Mountbatten’s cease fire order. Another Japanese party threatened with capture committed hara-kiri. “We cannot afford to treat the Japanese delicately, whether the war is on .or off,” an Army spokesman told Reuter’s correspondent at Rangoon, referring to the Thunderbolt action. Japanese remnants of the 28th Imperial Army threatened to cut off a party of Burma guerillas. The local commander called for an air strike. The pilots flew low, shootiiig curtains of fire into Japanese concentrations. The weather was bad and the visibility poor. The results of the attack were not observed. Allied troops attempted to capture a party of eight Japanese who were slipping across the Rangoon-Mandalay railway in the Penwegon area. Seven fell on hand grenades and killed themselves. The eighth had a leg blown off. Lord Mountbatten’s Chief of Staff is expected to conduct the initial surrender negotiations at Rangoon. Treachery and trickery will be dealt with by the firing squad.