The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1941. JAPANESE WORDS AND ACTIONS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 273, 18 November 1941, Page 6

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1941. JAPANESE WORDS AND ACTIONS

TOTALITARIAN Governments have taught us to mistrust words, and in consequence it is difficult to read without impatience the words y which the Japanese Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in the Diet sought to explain and to justify their foreign policy. No doves ever cooed so gently as these. If anyone could forget the record of the last few years he might imagine that General Tojo and Mr. Togo were two pacifist gentlemen, who had suddenly realised that the pacifist nation whose destinies they control was endangered by the aggressive designs of its neighbours, and who in consequence had reluctantly set aside their pacifist philosophy and resolved that force must be used to defend their homeland. But while having come to this resolution—so it would seem they still cherish the lingering hope that their neighbours, near and far, will "understand" them. Unfortunately for this extremely naive Japanese pose, Japan's neighbours do understand her—at least, they understand what she has done. They understand that her armies are in China, and have been there for many years, and not for the benefit of the Chinese. They understand that at a time when Britain's fortunes were low Japan became a partner of Britain's enemies. They understand that Japanese troops are in Indo-China, and they understand the geographical and strategic relationship of Indo-China with Singapore. These things are well understood. They form parts of a pattern of Japanese policy and action which it is not at all difficult to understand. The pattern—nicely labelled the "East Asia co-prosperity sphere" is not complete. The question is whether General Tojo's Government proposes further action towards its completion.

The four points specified by General Tojo as necessary for a settlement in the Pacific raise no hope that a settlement can be reached. He said, very truly, that if those four objectives could be attained it would be gratifying to Japan. The attainment of objectives beneficial to one nation, however detrimental to others, is likely to be "gratifying" to the rtation which set out to reach them. So it could not fail to be gratifying to Japan to be allowed a free hand in China (which means that the Chungking Government would be abandoned by Britain and the United States), to be allowed to trade freely with the Powers whose interests she is damaging, and to know that there would be no obstruction in the way of her further expansion. These are Japan's conditions and apparently her Government still hopes that they will be granted in negotiation, otherwise it would not have sent Mr. Kurusu to Washington. However, both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister declared that the time for negotiations was ending, and the implication is clear that if negotiations fail Japan may resort to force. This possibility, of course, has long been foreseen, and preparations have been made against it. So there was nothing new in the opening speeches in the Diet, which amounted in the main to a continuation of the "war of nerves" in which the Japanese are the clumsy imitators of their senior partner of the Axis. As for a long time, Britain and the United States will continue to pay much closer attention to what the Japanese do or seem likely to do, than to what, the Japanese say.