AMBITION TO RECAPTURE PART OF WORLD TRADE

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26117, 20 May 1950, Page 6

AMBITION TO RECAPTURE PART OF WORLD TRADE

resurgence of japan

[By the Tokyo Correspondent of “The Times”] (Reprinted by Arrangement)

Tokyo, April 26. —The last 12 months have seen a remarkable .improvement here m the conditions and morale of the people. Trie bewilderment and inertia which followed the surrender are now largely things of the past. Much of I he assurance which characterised the Japanese before the war has returned. Everywhere there is evidence of keenness to play a leading part in international affairs. Above all, there is a growing determination to compete), completely unfettered, in international markets and to recapture a large portion of world trade. With the recovery of Japanese industry, which has been greatly aided by the American decision to end further reparations, living conditions have improved out of all recognition. Thanks to increased production at home and to enormous imports under the American relief programme, food - is now abundant. Rationing of virtually all items other than sugar and staple foods like rice and bread has ended. Extra supplies of those are, however, easily obtainable in the black market. The cost of food, though still high, i.s falling. Although wages still lag behind prices, the Japanese are now probably the best-fed people in the Far East.

Rebuilding Tokyo Housing remains a grave problem. In the large cities, how r ever, the devastated areas are gradually being rebuilt, although the new buildings cannot sustain comparison with those of before the war. During the last three years some 2,000,000 people have returned to Tokyo, and all have found homes. Owing to the shortage of timber. the cost of building is still extremely high. In spite of .many statements to the contrary, Christianity has made litt.ie further headway among the Japanese. The number of professing Christians is not much larger than the pre-war figure, in spite of the excellent work of the missionaries. Buddhism no longer has any great hold upon the people, although it has recently shown signs of fresh vitality. Ancient temples are everywhere falling into disrepair, since no funds are available for their maintenance. Tenrikyo, a modern Shinto sect, seems to have even more adherents than it had before. Public morality is at a low ebb, with bribery and corruption rampant. Eroticism flourishes both in literature and on the stage. The newspapers carry numerous accounts of suicides arid murders, which are usually dismissed as natural, inevitable phenomena in post-war Japan. Indeed, the French phrase apres guerre is constantly used in Japanese conversation to condone almost £very immorality. A4l classes of society show a profound interest in the causes of Amer ican commercial success, and books about the United States are eagerly studied. If democracy and the American way of life have no great appeal for the Japanese, the same cannot be said about American, business, which they passionately desire to emulate. Cultural Contacts Long cut off from Britain, the Japanese seemed likely to lose tneir tradition of cultural contacts with our country. The arrival here some two years ago of Mr Edmund Blunden, the poet, gave a new impetus to English studies in Japan. Mr Blunden’s influence upon the intellectual life of Japan has been great. His name is a household word wherever the English language is studied here. As one Japanese professor of English literature put it: “He gave us spiritual food after the militarists had starved us for years.”

One might have expected that after her disastrous defeat Japan would turn to a new examination of her own great cultural heritage. There are as yet few signs that that is happening. Only slight interest is taken either in Japanese classics or in Chinese. The disillusionment which followed the destruction of the traditional concept of the national policy has resulted in scepticism about the worth of many ancient Japanese institutions. The authorities know, however, that the people are open to persuasion and that they can successfully revive the old dogmas if only they can get rid of the occupying forces before trie rot has gone too far. Already they have succeeded in persuading Allied headquarters to permit the reintroduction of a modified form of State Shinto. The relationship between the Emperor and his people is more human than formerly, but he retains their adoration. The influence of the imperial family for good or for evil very great in the years to come. In towns like Kyoto and Nara, which were untouched by th? war. some of the o’d graciousness survives. The traditional handicrafts continue blit

■ workmanship has fallen off. Democracy has made little difference to the I state of the eta (untouchables) livine in those towns, who are as much despised and hated as before, and who continue to live in poverty and squalor In the great commercial and administrative centres like Tokyo, Osaka,‘and Kobe the resentment of officialdom against the foreigners, particularly the traders, is clearly noticeable. The ordinary people bear no ill will, but the officials seem merely to live for the day when they will have all Allied nationals once more under their con- 4 trbl and subject to their arbitrary orders. Since Allied headquarters restored the right of Customs inspection there have been instances of officious Japanese inspectors searching highly respected members of the foreign community. Complaints about such treatment fall on deaf ears at headquarters where the belief that the Japanese can do no wrong becomes stronger. The police, too. are planning to impede the activities of foreigners once the occupation has ended, and they have already begun to pry into . the private ' lives of foreign residents with a view to re-establishing their dossiers in addition, taxation proposals of a discriminatory nature which would have driven many members of the foreign business community out of the country - were dropped only in the nick of tima alter repeated protests. In the course of a recent visit by your correspondent to Kansai, the western region of Japan, an inspection of tw*o mills operated by the DaiNippon Cotton Spinning Company Ltd., at Kaizuka, outside Osaka, was particularly instructive for the light itthrew on Japanese industrial prae- ' tices. The two mills, both of the most modern design, occupy, with their attached buildings, an area of 20 acres. At the time of the surrender they * were practically idle, having little pr no raw cotton available. To-day they employ 3000 females, of whom 2100 are ■ engaged in spinning and 700 in weaving. and 350 males, 200 of them being ’ operatives. Formidable Competitor The girls are for the most part be‘- ? tween 16 and 23 years of age. are provided with living quarters at lithe mills and receive their simple meals free of cost. Their wages average 4300 yen monthly (at the official rate of exchange, a little over £4k from which approximately 400 yen is f deducted for income tax. They work - six days a week, and are allowed, in addition to their weekly holiday, a total of 12 days of holiday a year. The mills operate on two shifts, from 5 a.m. to 1.45 p.m. and 1.45 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. In their spare time the girls are - taught sewing, handicrafts, and the traditional Japanese arts of the tea ceremony and flower arrangement The two mills make use of 840 Toyoda automatic looms and have an operating rate of 100 per cent. Daily production amounts to 185 bales of cotton yarn and 1100 pieces of cotton piece-goods (sheeting, print cloth, and poplin). The overseers all carry badges, on their coats exhorting the operatives to increase production. The workers in the two mills had been demanding ), an increase of 50 per cent, in their . wages and had been striking for a ' two-hour period each day. The of the mills bore posters put up the workers urging a struggle for higher wages and notices by the management calling for increased production ' in the interests of national recovery. It would have been difficult to find a better example of that combination of ’ paternal ; sm and nationalism which ■> makes Japanese industry so formidable a competitor. A Growing Conviction The manager of the plant made it clear that the revival of the Japanese Vtextile industry was just beginning. ‘ ' Industrialists and politicians here frequently speak of the surprises that are ' in store for Lancashire. The conviction is growing that, in spite of the difficulties with which this country is still faced, many British markets Will • be Japanese markets before long. At present business is restrained by the 5 regulations relating to labour conditions and fair trade practices which General MacArthur wisely compelled the Government to make into law. is not expected that such laws will long survive the end of the occupy- < tion. , While Japanese businessmen see the temporary advantages ■to be gained.vfrom close association with foreign, firms, without whose help they are un- ! '" . likely to obtain private dollar or sterling credits, it can hardly -DjO doubted that the ultimate aim of the < . Government is to put an end to all ... foreign activities in the country, pre?;, natatory to restoring the old totalftarianism. '' ‘.v-'j ..... . .