CONCERN REVEALED

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 254, 24 July 1944, Page 5

CONCERN REVEALED

Disquieting Military Reverses

LONDON, July 21. The downfall of Premiers and Governments is as common in Japan as earthquakes, and generally the more they change the more they are the same, says the “Daily Mail.” Yet Mr. Cordell Hull was right when he spoke of the removal of To jo as a rather, desperate sign of the Japanese military situation, and the homilies upon his subsequent complete ejection which have come from Tokio confess that things are in’ 1 a bad way.. Asking what sort of policy Koiso and Yonai are expected to work out together the newspaper says: “We may conjecture that neither of them, nor any of the Elder Statesmen, nor the Son of Heaven, has a clear notion that Saipan is not the only loss, nor that it is not from Saipan alone that danger threatens. “By sea and air. forces far superior to what Japan has left are closing upon her. The end of the European war will set others free for action in the Far East. Tokio’s Elder Statesmen may call on a general and an admiral to save Japans face somehow, but the time has gone by.” The “Yorkshire Post,”, in an editorial, says that it is too early yet to estimate the full significance of Tojo’s downfall. Tojo’s Miscalculations.

“The Emperor and others in Japan who know the facts have been seriously disturbed by such startling developments as the capture of Saipan. The dismissal of Admiral Shimada and. Tojo’s resignation may be taken as an index of the gravity with which Tojo views the strategic position. The straits ■ in which Japan’s European allies are now placed must have contributed to Tojo’s discomfiture, for he grossly under-estimated what the Allies could achieve both in Europe, and Asin.” The “News-Chroniele,” in a leader, says that events in Japan are largely cloaked in mystery, but there can be no doubt that at the moment. Japan is in the throes of a major political crisis which reflects the consternation caused by the loss of Saipan. ’ Tile “News-Chronicle” adds that there is no reason to suppose that the Japanese morale is weakening or that her armies do not continue to fight in dogged fanaticism, but Japan’s resources are negligible in comparison with those of the Allies. The loss of Saipan obviously has been a shrewd blow at Japan’s military power and self-confidence. Nevertheless. it would be foolish to over-esti-mnte the effect of this defeat, since.lt has •! > en countered by a substantial Japanese advance in China.