Evening Post. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1937. WHAT DOES JAPAN WANT?

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 146, 17 December 1937, Page 8

Evening Post. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1937. WHAT DOES JAPAN WANT?

Six months after the Lukowchiao incident, which precipitated hostilities in Northern China, the Japanese army, according to the Peking correspondent of "The Times," reported in a cable message yesterday, is in nominal possession of over 300,000 square miles of Chinese territory in the north, an area comparable to Manchukuo's 363,700 square miles, and little short of the 301,800 square miles of the combined areas of Italy and Germany. It will bring the comparison"1 nearer home to state that the Japanese hold in North China an area more than three times the size of New Zealand. By the separate operations, commenced later, in the Yangtze River district the Japanese have acquired "control of Shanghai, by far the richest and most populous city of China, and occupied Nanking, (he scat of the Chinese Government before it withdrew in.the face of the advance of the invaders. Nanking is nearly 200 miles from Shanghai, and the Japanese hold all the intervening territory over a wide belt on both sides of the river. Notwithstanding the evacuation of Nanking, China will continue to resist tbfe Japanese invasion, declares the Generalissimo, Marshal Chiang Kai-shek, in a cable message sent from Hankow. On the other hand, the Japanese are proceeding to a further stage of conquest. Cables today announce the commencement of a new drive north from Nanking along three routes with the object of joining up with the Japanese forces in North China. Yesterday it was stated that a fleet of transports laden with Japanese troops was approaching Towshan, 150 miles south of Hong Kong, thus obviously aiming at Canton, the capital of South China. Whether the success which so far has attended the Japanese arms will continue lies with the unpredictable fortunes of war, but the military achievement to date' is certainly of a character to impress a world shocked by the ruthless methods pursued and the havoc wrought hy the invaders among a people proverbially peaceful. The Japanese have made repeated attempts to justify their action in China to the outside world, which is loath to believe that China today is only Abyssinia over again. The "incidents" which apparently provoked Japanese action were trifling enough, in the light of the consequences, and could easily have been settled by a nation desirous of peaceful settlement. Instead, there was the expression of a determination to chastise China and put an end to anti-Japanese sentiment. The excuse was also made of Communism in China, but the Nanking Government had ten years before expelled Communist agent 3 from the region under its control. It is therefore hard for the outside world to find any legitimate ground for the Japanese invasion of China and the sympathies ,of democratic peoples arc naturally with the Chinese. By this attitude the Japanese people .are genuinely hurt and feel they are not understood. The reasons lie deep in the peculiar mentality of the Japanese. This is revealed in an address delivered recently by the Japanese Prime Minister, Prince Ayamaro Konoe, at the initial meeting of what is called "The Movement for National Spiritual Mobilisation." In this he says:

It is our conviction that the task of nation-building in China will never be successful' unless it is performed on the basis of friendly co-operation between the two great neighbouring countries of the East, Japan and China. We are likewise convinced that such a nationalism as is founded on. AntiJapanism certainly drives the Chinese away from happiness. As matters now stand, it is but natural that patience on the part of Japanese should have the contrary effect of inviting Chinese contempt and reinforcing their attitude of resistance against us. . . . Under these circumstances it is imperative not only for the security of our country, but also -for the cause of righteousness and humanity, and for the future of the Orient in particular, that we deal a decisive blow to the Government of China, so that the source of all anti-Japanese forces in China may be shattered.

There is much more of this nature in the address, couched in language reminiscent of War propaganda, if the translation does justice to the tongue of Japan, but the most significant passage is a reference by the Premier to the Emperor of Japan:

Whenever I was granted an audience I was filled with awe and deeply moved in seeing his Majesty working so industriously. We have heard the following command in the Imperial message granted on the occasion oi the opening of the Imperial Diet on September 4: "It is Our wish, in view of the present extraordinary situation, that Our subjects, united in their faithful service to the State and in their devotion to the Throne, will seek to achieve the purpose of Empire."

"Seek to achieve the purpose of Empire"—these few words are like a searchlight in a stormy sky. They explain everything and render futile all the ponderous, elaborate jargon of propaganda that puzzles, but does not deceive. Western peoples appreciate frankness, and "the purpose of Empire" is quite sufficient to make clear all that has happened in China. What matters most at the present time and with regard to the future is not causes, but effects. China ia—or was—the last great open

market of the trading world —to put the issue on a crude, material basis. China is, in the skill and industry of its teeming millions and in its agricultural and mineral resources, the richest undeveloped country that remains on the surface of the earth. The policy of the Western Powers, notably Britain and the United States, after chequered vicissitudes due to the internal weakness of the Chinese nation, was to keep the market open to the free competition of all comers. On that basis Shanghai rose from a swamp to be one of the world's greatest 'and wealthiest cities, a true international emporium of trade. In the hands of Japan is there anything to show that China will not go . the way of Manchuria, now Manchukuo, and become a closed preserve for the enterprise and enrichment of the conquerors? Already in Peking a new "Government" has been formed "under Japanese pressure"' with the usual accompaniments. The regime has received de facto recognition from its creators, and seeks recognition by foreign Powers as the Government of China. In such a way is "the purpose of Empire" achieved. Will it be halted by the action of other Powers interested? The example of Manchukuo is not reassuring.