JAPANESE ACCUSED OF KEEPING GOODS BACK FROM AUTHORITIES

Evening Star, Issue 26151, 12 July 1947, Page 7

JAPANESE ACCUSED OF KEEPING GOODS BACK FROM AUTHORITIES

(Rec.B a.m.) TOKIO, July 11. Allegations that both the Japanese Government and private citizens are stifl hoarding more than £250,000,000 worth of goods, which should have been turned over to the occupation authorities, were made in the Diet to-day by thel Liberal member, Koichi Seko. He said black marketeers and the Japanese authorities were collaborating to hide goods from the Allies. The goods included £1,000,000 worth of diamonds, more than £12.000,000' worth of goods stocked by militarists for the final defence of the home islands, and immense quantities of clothing, silk goods, sugar, and gasoline. Seko had been accused by other Diet members of black marketeering. ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS IMPROVED (Rec. 0.40 a.m.) TOKIO, July 11, British Commonwealth-Ameriean relations in Japan have shown a marked improvement since the storm over whaling and the Angaqr Island phosphate project abated last week, says the A.A.P.-Reuter's correspondent; This is the opinion of highiranking officials from Australia, Britain, and United Sta’tes,i iwhcr- liotf* say- the, disputes .were .responsible for clearing the

air of a lot of minor grievances, and have actually helped to establish relationships between the United States and the Commonwealth on an even better basis than hitherto: Now that the hot words which were expressed by representatives of all countries concerned have been forgotten, the cause of the trouble. has been analysed in detail Both sides are wilting to admit that the actual issues are far too slight to cause the acute deterioration of relations which was once threatened. Both the occupation authorities and the United States Government are considered likely to give greater attention in future to matters of immediate interest to the Allies. ORGANISED GRIME GANGS IN JAPAN TOKIO. July 10. Organised gangs of demobilised Japanese soldiers and members of a secret. post-war nltra-Nntionalistic organisation formed immediately after the surrender, are believed to be responsible for the wave of crime reported from various parts of Japan, according to a police report. The police suspicions were aroused in the Yamagata prefecture of Northern Honshu when a former soldier was arrested for robbery. Under questioning. the soldier confessed that a gang was operating in the northern part of Honshu under a former lieu-tenant-general The membership of the gang, he said, once totalled more than 10.000