STRIPPING OF JAPAN

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 138, 8 December 1945, Page 7

STRIPPING OF JAPAN

| REPARATIONS OFFICER'S .RECOMMENDATIONS TOKIO, December 7. The reparations commissioner, Mr. Pauley, has recommended that Japan shall be stripped of all her assets abroad, virtually all her chemical, steel, and ship-building capacity, and half her electric power and machinetool industries. In a formal statement, Mr. Pauley said he was recommending this course to President Truman to destroy any possibility of Japan ever waging war again and to reimburse the countries she had victimised.

He added that the equipment built up in Japan-in the past generation consisted of plants for waging a war of aggression, and in spite of all wartime destruction, there was still twice as much in a usable condition as when she started her aggressive course. That surplus must be taken out. Mr. Pauley said that these industrial facilities would be shipped to other countries, together with all the Japanese capacity for producing many specified light metals. Pending decision as to disposal, all Japan's gold and precious metals would ]je sent to the San Francisco mint. Equipment used solely for making arms and ammunition would be destroyed, and Japanese steel production would be reduced from snore than 11.090.000 tons to 2.500.000 tons.

All equipment will be removed from 20 shipyards execot that necessary for shipping essential to the occupation Twenty of 41 modern caustic and acid plants will be removed, together with all coal-burning electric genera tint; ulants except ihoso necessary as standby substitutes for hydro-electric plants. All Japanese assets outside the homo islands will be confiscated.