STILL STRONG

Evening Star, Issue 25495, 28 May 1945, Page 5

STILL STRONG

JAPAN'S ABILITY TO WAGE WAR WELL ORGANISED " INNER ZONE " RUGBY, May 26. A survey of the present economic and industrial capacity of Japan in relation to her ability to conduct the war has been released by Mr Leo T. Crowley, of the United States Lconomic Administration. The survey states that, although Japan has suffered severe military reverses aud suffered damaging air attacks, her productive capacity is such that she is still able to wage a long war. The Japanese war industry has been organised to operate efficiently in Japan proper, Korea, Manchuria, and parts of North China. In this " inner zone " industries exist which are capablo of producing finished war products, and key raw materials are available to expand production. The Allies so far have, liberated less than 7 per cent, of nearly 3,000,000 square miles of conquered territory controlled by the Japanese. The Allies have cut the Japanese off from rubber, oil, tin, and fibres formerly available from the East Indies and the Philippines, but the Japanese in the " inner swne " possess important raw matedials and have established synthetic oil plants to supply oil no longer available from the East Indies, and the; quantity produced may be sufficient .to-; meet requirements in_ the remaining reduced area of operations. Similarly, the Japanese are replacing ores from the south by opening mines in China and by utilising the relatively poor iron ores in North-east Korea. There are some materials she may not be able to produce, but it is probable there are large stocks of these held for war requirements. The advance of the Allied forces will increase the already short food supply, but this will not result in starvation in the " inner zone," and is unlikely to interfere with the war effort. Bombdamage has been serious in individual centres. Great areas of the principal cities have been laid waste, and aircraft factories, arsenals, power plants, and • marshalling yards have suffered irreparable damage, but the Japanese still hold a wide enough manufacturing area to continue to fight on.