STILL UNDERARMS

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 61, 10 September 1945, Page 5

STILL UNDERARMS

NEARLY 6,000,000 JAPS

Rec. 12.30 p.m. TOKIO, Sept. 9. Tokio raaio announced that 5,900,000 Japanese troops are still under arms. All army units had been demobilised in the areas the United States forces have occupied. While this represented only about one-fourth of the total Japanese strength on the mainland, because of lack of transport, the demobilisation of forces overseas, totalling three million, would take three years to complete.

The correspondent of the Associated Press of America in Tokio reports that the Japanese newspapers are now operating under a ii£ht censorship, with no attempt so far to control editorials and propaganda. The Japanese Government will be called on to hand over war criminals when they are wanted, but at present it is felt that they are unable to escape from Japan and can be picked up at any time. Brigadier-General Crump Garvin, Chief of Staff of the 24th Corps, said 'at a Press conference that the Americans plan to retain the GovernorGeneral of Korea, Noboyuki Abe, and other Japanese civil officials in office, "maybe lor a day, maybe for a year." The Japanese police would be permitted to retain their arms. This announcement brought criticism from Korean newspapermen who were present, but Brigadier-General Garvin said lie refused to enter into a political argument and the decision was final. He added that the plan was analogous to the. Tokio surrender. Moreover, it was necessary to keep the Japanese in office until the Arneri-. cans had completed the occupation. Koreans questioned the comparison and declared that while the Japanese were fanatically determined to- keep the Emperor the Koreans were equally determined to oust the Japanese officials from Korea. They said that the policy was a slap in the face after the Koreans' long underground struggle.