CHANGES IN JAPAN.

Evening Star, Issue 15074, 4 January 1913, Page 6

CHANGES IN JAPAN.

The new Emperor is of a very different stamp from the old. He was educated in the learning of the West : he was taught to speak foreign languages; ho went to school with other boys; he has been wed to going about among the people without formality, ami his face is familiar to thousands; a great palace, in the. French stv'.o was built for him—thouah he has never occupied it—and his conjugal life has been modelled on the European standard. It is characteristic cf the changed times that, whereas the only photograph obtainable of the late Emperor was'one. taken, probably 20 years ago, photographs of the new Emperor are. many and "excellent : and an omen of future changes may perhaps be wen in the present rider's first innovation in court etiquette, for ho has decided already .to break through immemorial custom by driving in the same carriaee with his consort on his journeys to and from the imperial palace, to which he will soon remove. In brief, the new Emperor docs not constitute that link between modern and ancient Japan which was one of the eecrots of his father's extraordinary hold upon the veneration of his people—a fact which i.s widely, if tacitly, recognised bv the nation. It. is doubtful whether, even if he wished to play the part of a. demi■god. he could do so." Thus" with the death of the Emperor Mutsnhito an era has passed away in fact as well as in name. It is no longer that of Meiji. or Enlightenment, but (hat of Taisho, or Jliglitcous-il-CRr. —The New Era..— It is said that in choosing his appellation no special stress was" laid <>n its meaning. And yet one be tempted to believe that the Privy Council pondered well before they selected it. Per to all appearance the battle in the coming era will be for moral righteousness rathcAhan materia! enlightenment. It is a Jierculean task _ which awaits its statesmen—that of building a foundation for strong conviction and high ideals. To the foreign observer there is indeed something pathetic in the present strenuous search u. Japan for a moral basis ; one sees its sincerity in the very extravagance of some ■>! the proposals eolemnlv put forth. There are those who seem, to think it possihle to build up a composite religion out of the best elements of all existing creeds as a man might undertake to build a house composed of the best marbles obtainable in the world ; there are tho?e who apparently hold if perfectly feasible to force this re ligion down the throats of the populace like a pc.tent pill. The discipline of the nation is still wonderful, but it mav by doubted whether any modern nation" can be disciplined into a'religion. And. moreover, from an economic standpoint it may be questioned whether, if Japan is to keep pace with the lending Powers of the world', sne will not have to' relax his discipline in order that more scope mav be given to individual initiative. Japan has surprised the world already by her material transfiguration. It may be that in the coming era she will surprise it by a spiritual transfiguration no less swift and complete. But that there is a bigger tesk before her than she has ever yet attempted, and that fihe cannot shirk ii. needs no demonstration. The era of Taisho demands greater statesmen than the era. of Meiji. because their statesmanship must extend beyond the region of politics into unfamiliar fields. The problem will not be susceptible of solution by the methods of tho Elder Statesmen : it will need new men trained in the new ideas.—' The Times's' Tokio correspondent.