IS JAPAN GROWING INTO DEMOCRACY?

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25080, 11 January 1947, Page 6

IS JAPAN GROWING INTO DEMOCRACY?

FAR EAST

FBv GORDON WALKER, Chief Far Eastern Correspondent of the “Christ L ' Science Monitor. J (Published by Arrangement.)

Tokyo, Dec. 17.—The first signs of a powerful popular front in Japan were visible here to-day. when 250.000 of Tokyo’s labour union workers marched on the Imperial Palace and on the Diet, which is now in session.

Singing labour’s international theme songs, the “Red Flag” and the “Internationale,” men, women, and children from the ranks of Japan's rapidly growing labour-union movement vociferously demanded dissolution of the Diet and the overthrow of the Yoshida Cabinet.

They maintained strictest discipline as they marched through Tokyo’s busy downtown area, flanked by cordons of Japanese police and significant sprinklings of white American M. P. jeeps. But they symbolised the popular discontent with the Government' which is growing each day in intensity.

To-day’s demonstration was not as big numerically as the demonstration last May Day, when 500,000 marched along the same route just outside the Imperial Palace’s inner moat. But it represented a far more articulate voice of organised labour. New Political Landmark Not only did it mark the first time that both the right and left wings of labour have joined in a common front, but it was the first time that organised labour had received the backing of a political party coalition which finally has decided to take up its battle on the floor of Parliament. From this standpoint, to-day’s demonstration signals a new landmark in Japanese political history wherein it is at least certain that a segment of the people have co-ordinated their efforts with political parties in a fashion which eventually may bring about more representative government. The background of to-day’s demonstration rests primarily in a growing feeling in most circles that the Yoshida Cabinet is unable to cope with the rapidly approaching economic crisis. The first step in forming the present loosely knit popular front came about when the Social Democratic Party—largest opposition party in the Diet — sought to bring about a temporary merger of Japan’s otherwise widely split left and right wings of union organisation. The Social Democratic Party hitherto had been split into right and left wings. But in the face of growing pressure for unified action, the party apparently managed to effect some sort of cohesion. The next step was formation of some sort of coalition within the Diet itself. The Social Democrats, with their 90 seats, were patently unable to fight against the 259 seats held by pro-Gov-ernment parties—so-called Liberals and Progressives. So they sought and won a working coalition with the co-operative Democrats and the People’s Party, thereby boosting their total to somewhere in the neighbourhood of 180 votes. Discretion Stressed Independents in the Diet hedged for many days, but at the last minute they showed an inclination to side with the Government, thereby virtually assuring a Government majority in any show-down decision. To-day was “D-Day” for putting the new popular front to its test.

•From the floor of the wooden re. viewing stand on the gravel driveway leading into the Imperial Palace, polk tical and labour leaders addressed the milling throngs, exhorting them to maintain unity, and with one eye on the blue uniforms of the Japanese police and American counter-intcllU gence agents who weaved through the crowds, they urged cautious discretion in presenting demands. While American and Indian Punjab guards stood in sentry boxes at the entrance to the Imperial Palace with a somewhat disinterested attitude, the demonstrators waved thousands of placards which ranged from moderate left wing requests for the overthrow of an “inept'’ Cabinet to Communitf demands for the heads of “capitalistic • and reactionary” Cabinet diehards. Back in the austere Diet chamber, the Social Democrats, meanwhile, made a poignant plea*, amid raucoug heckling, for dissolution of the Diet and a new national election. Supported by similar speeches from the leaders of the other two partial in the coalition, they pointed out that the Yoshida Cabinet failed to prevent skyrocketing prices, disastrous inflation, and growing scarcity of goodg stocks. Opposition Plea Fades They pointed to disunity of vieti within the Cabinet over labour issue* And they demanded that the preset Government ask the Emperor to dis» solve the Diet “with a view to reali|» ing a truly democratic government* ■ Pro-Government parties, however, turned the plea into a strictly partisan debate. Claiming to be themselvtt champions of labour and the people, they stated there was no reason to make any changes. Confident in the knowledge they commanded of the majority voting power, they ' ridiculed the opposition parties’ claims. When the final vote was taken, they won by a safe margin. Significantly silent during the debate were the five Communist representatives, who sat in their corner and merely watched and listened with undisguised interest. They played a big part in the forming of the temporary labour coalition. But on the floor of the Diet they continued to be politically ostracised by the powerful Social Democrats, who three months ago refused them a place in any coalition movement. Failure Is Seen The Social Democratic leaders themselves felt yesterday that to-day’s effort to dissolve the Diet would not succeed. But they recognised the necessity of displaying unity in the ranks of at least three of the political opposition parties. And they felt that even if success were not achieved this time, they at least had won a major victory in engineering some sort of unified support from the right wing National Federation of Labour and its* left wing counterpart, the Congress of Industrial Unions. The working coalition which got under way to-day will not continue to push for dissolution of the Diet. By means of further labour offensives, planned by most major unions coupled with increasing unified pressure in the Diet, it is believed that only a short time will elapse before confidence in the Government can be put to a more decisive test.