TERMS FOR JAPAN

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 July 1945, Page 5

TERMS FOR JAPAN

DISCUSSED AT POTSDAM NOT SO UNCONDITIONAL ? STALIN AS MEDIATOR

WASHINGTON, July 22. The United States “Army and Navy Journal" says: “President Truman carried to tne Big Three conference at Potsdam a draft of Japanese surrender terms as favoured by the State, War, and Navy Departments. The terms call for the total loss to Japan of what remains of her fleet and air force, as well as lor other military disarmament, loss of territory outside the home islands, destruction of war industries, complete control of Japan’s economy by the United Nations, and the surrender of designated war criminals. “Interest in Potsdam revolves round the 'question whether the Emperor Hirohito will be declared a war criminal and punished accordingly. When Mr. Truman left the United States the question had not been decided. Liberals and New Dealers were demanding that he be executed. Others felt that the war lords, rather than he, were responsible for Pearl Harbour, and that as the status of the Emperor was not involved in our security, the war would only be prolonged if we should fight to destroy Japan’s religious and political systems. “Rumours of Japanese peace feelers find no official support in Washington, yet this has not removed completely the possibility that Mr. Stalin may have been entrusted with a serious peace formula by the Japanese. It may or may not ( be significant that on the eve of the departure for the Big Three meetings, the Japanese Ambassador in Moscow conferred with Mr. Molotov. “Sensational diplomatic and military developments in the Far East war as a result of the Potsdam talks are now fullt expected by London diplomats." says the London "Sunday Express" diplomatic correspondent. "There are persistent reports that the Japanese asked Mr. Stalin to put forward peace proposals on their behalf.” The Columbia Broadcasting System’s commentator at Washington said: “It is understood that a Big Three statement .from Potsdam within a few days will offer Japan more liberal surrender terms, including freedom of religion and the right to choose whatever form of government is desired, leaving open the question of retention of the Emperor ” The commentator added that Mr. Truman took the draft terms to| Potsdam, hoping Mr. Stalin would sign them, “not necessarily as a beligerent.” . . , , A Tokio radio commentator has predicted that Mr. Truman, in response to pressure from the American people, will modify the demand for unconditional surrender. The radio declared: “The death of Mr. Roosevelt and the collapse of Germany removed the basis for further collaboration among the United Nations.” The Tokio commentator aigued that Russia was now rebuilding her national strength and shying away from all attempts to force her to lisjht Japan. He added that the British Empire was "war weary, and trying to be relieved of its responsibilities with a minimum token elfort.” U.S.A. BROADCAST OFFER. WASHINGTON, July 21. j Broadcasting in Japanese as an of- | ficial spokesman lor the United States i Government directly addressing Jap-j anese leaders, Captain E. C. Zacharias of the United States Navy, said: “You face two alternatives—the virtual destruction of Japan, followed by a dictated peace, or unconditional surrender with its attendant benefits as laid down by the Atlantic Charter. “The latter alone, which is a humanitarian gesture of great constructive value, can bring peace and prosperity. Surrender is a time-hon-oured formula; the Japanese armies have surrendered in the past, it Japan surrenders without .delay, it can be assumed that the United States will enforce the formula and ensure peace. But if you delay, we will hold you responsible for the criminal prolongation of a lost war. there are still some influential persons in the United States who would not like to see the destruction of Japan, but our patience is rapidly running out. Are Japan’s leaders so short-sighted thafthey cannot see the possible complications they may face il they tail to act JAPANESE ADMISSIONS ’LONDON, July 22 ; Suggesting that the prowling British and American Fleet may strike Japan again at any moment, tne 10kio radio has urged strict vigilance ; by the Japanese people. I The radio added that a naval bombardment of other areas ot tne Jnp- I anese homeland by the battleships that had already wrecked Kamaishi and Mormoran, on Hokkaido ( Yezo| Island), and the fringe of Tokio Bay, were highly possible. The commentator explained that there had been no aerial attack's on the enemy fleet because the Japanese plan was to offend the enemy and contuse him. ( Tokio radio reports that a force ot > 200 American fighters, with some Superfortresses, have been over tn? Japanese home island ol Honshu.. They strafed factories, communications and other targets with machinegun fire and small explosions. | JAP. ALARM~SPREADING | NEW YORK, July 21. “The shock of American bombings on the Japanese people is surprisingly strong,” says the Associated Press-. “A domestic Tokio broadcast admitted that the tactics of the raiding planes had become so complicated that they cannot be anticipated from experience or common sense. The Japanese peo- j pie are kept in a constant state of alarm. A single Flying Fortress raided Tokio to-day, as an example ol | sneak tactics aimed at creating con- 1 fusion. The radio added that during J air raids it was not good to be unduly ! calm* on the other hand, it was also; not good to be dejectedly nervous ” i Vice-Admiral Marc Mitscher, the new Deputy-Chief of Naval Air Operations, told the Press that he did not agree with the theory that the Japanese were hoarding their air power for a final grand attack. I believe they are short ol something badly needed—l do not know what,” he said. “It may be petrol, but we will not know until we go in and; find out.” , „ T , Vice-Admiral A. W. I 1 itch, whom Admiral Mitscher replaced, expressed the opinion that the Japanese simply started too late. He added that the enemy originally had implicit faith in his outer defences, and shot the ; works there.” I Admiral Fitch said the enemy was. now confronted with the job of im- < provising defences in the nomeland.

VARIOU£JF RONTS UNOPPOSED ATTACKS WASHINGTON, July 21. Admiral Nimitz’s communique says: “Privateers attacked shipping to-day near Shikine Island and installations on Miyake Island, in the Izo chain.

Light unjts of the 3rd Fleet, bombarding Nojima Cape, in Honshu, 55 miles south of Tokio, on Wednesday night, encountered no opposition from enemy aircraft, surface or submarine units, or shore batteries. The force patrolled the eastern entrance of the Sagami Gulf, but found no enemy shipping. After a bombardment of radio, radar, and other military installations, our ships retired without incident. Marine aircraft hit a coastal ship near the southern coast of Kyushu.” , A communique issued yesterday by ! Admiral Nimitz said: “Search aircraft yesterday set fire to a small 'coastal cargo ship south of Honshu. I Liberators damaged a medium cargo 'ship off the east coast of Honshu. i “Two enemy aircraft were shot 'down by anti-aircraft gunners on Okinawa on Wednesday evening. The ;next evening three enemy aircraft l crashed in the vicinity of Okinawa (doing minor damage. I “Marine aircraft bombed installations on Yap and in the Palaus.” MORE AERIAL ATTACKS (Rec. 11.55 a.m.) GUAM, July 22 Seventy-five Fortresses dropped I 450 tons of demolition bombs on the 'Ube Coal Liquefaction Plant. The i Tokio radio said 200 Mustangs start- ; ed fires in the Osaka and Kobe disi tricts with machine-gun attacks. The 'radio warned that the Anglo-Ameri-can fleets, which have maintained a I radio silence since Thursday, might (again attack the homeland at any I moment. I -REARRANGING COMMANDS (Reed. 11.55 p.m.) NEW YORK. July 22. The early re-shaping of the Pacific Commands is expected to give a ’ greatly-enlarged sphere of operations | in the South-west Pacific to the Bri- | tish, including all General MacArthur’s original assignment made in 1942 as far east as Guadalcanal and northwards to, but not including, the Philippines. This is reported by the Associated Press correspondent at Washington, who adds: “The assumption is that the Anglo-Dutch, Australian and Portuguese possessions which are still largely enemy-held will be switched to Admiral Mounti batten’s Command. Whether there will be more specific delineations of General MacArthur’s and Admiral Nimitz’s Commands remains to be seen. , General MacArthur has charge of all United States Army forces in the Pacific and Admiral Nimitz all the Navy forces, while General Spaatz has an assignment of equal rank lor the strategic air forces assaulting Japan. These assignments, planned by the joint Chiefs of Staff, have been subject to some undercover of criticism because they meant that the unified command principle used so successfully by General Eisenhowei had been abandoned. Nevertheless, the triole command system is reported to be working fairly efficiently. BORNEO AND MALAYA. WASHINGTON, July 21. “Australian forces have carried out mopping-up operations in the recent-ly-captured Borneo territory.” says a communique issued to-day at General MacArthur's headquarters. “The total of enemy dead has now reached 4306, with 441 prisoners. Our casualties were 386 killed, 12 missing, and 1351 wounded.■ „ . . . “The R.A.A.F. and the 13th Air Force have bombed and strafed the enemv rear areas and communication lines/destroying fuel dumps and motor vehicles. Light naval units ol the 7th Fleet shelled enemy harbour installations at Jesselton, damaging watercraft and starting numerous fires. Allied aircraft bombed oil installations at Mako in the Pescadores, and continued the day and night blockade ol Asiatic coastal shipping lines. They attacked a troop concentration near Swatow, sunk cargo vessels on the China coast, and damaged hiahwav installations in Indo-Chma. They strafed the Kuantan shipyards in Malaya and attacked Ituaba Island, in the South China Sea. “Heavy units and fighters of the R.A.A.F. and the 13th Air Force ranging over the East Indies, destroyed the barracks at Limboegm aerodrome in southern Celebes, damaged transport arid fuel supplies m the Haimaheras, and attacked shipping in the or.the.Yth Fleet damaged shore facilities in the Macfessai Strait. The R.A.A.F. and the Dutch Air Force struck at isolated garrisons in New Guinea and defence positions in the Wewak sector. Medium planes and fighter-bombers of the R.N.Z.A.r . and the Marine Air Force started fires and destroyed personnel areas at K “TnAustralian naval unit bombarded enemy shore„ batteries in northern Bougainville.

FURTHER GAINS (HeC ' 2 P ' m ' ) MANILA, July 22. The Australian Seventh Division troops in new landings without opposition in Balikpapan bay on I i y night, established a six mile beachhead between the doeng and Bernagoe, reports the New York Times’s’’ correspondent. ine landings give the Australians control of virtually all the bay’s navigable waters. The Australians now. occupy approximately a 15 mites strip a J°,pH the eastern shore of the bay as; w e as about a 12 miles strip on the west ern shore. American rocketships on Friday sailed up the Riko River and blasted a supposed Japanese hide-out near the headwaters ol the river with rockets and three-inch on the Celebes reached a peak when Liberators wiped out the town of Tobili on Shildpad Island, eastern section of Celebes, which piobably has the largest concentration 01 Japanese troops east of Borneo. Liberators also blasted airfields from which planes might have interfered with the Australian landings. CHINESE CAPTURE. ' new~york, July 21. Laipo, on the Kwelin-Liuchow highway, was recaptured by the Chinese forces early on July 16, says a Chungking communique. ine Chinese troops are now pushing forward towards Yangso. . , The city of Yungfu is besieged, ana is being attacked by the Chinese. Yiyang, in Hunan province, was recantured by Chinese troops on the afternoon of July 16. Chinese troops advancing from the area east of Imoak reached the vicinity of Yeungking, and are now engaging the enemy in battle. In the area west of Thai 1 ho and in the vicinity of Wanan. the Chinese forces are engaged in fierce battles. JAPANESE ADVANCE. (Rec. 1.50 p.m.l CHUNGKING, July 22. . The Jananese made a 45-mile break-throUgh on China’s invasion

coast, striking southwards, towards Swatow, says a Chinese communique. The Japanese advanced from a point midway between Amoy and Swatow, crossed the border from Fukien Province into Kwantung, and captured Chaoan, 20 miles north of Swatow. GOLD FROM U.S.A. CHUNGKING, July 22. The agreement which the Chinese Prime Minister (Mr. Soong) negotiated on his recent visit to the United States included the shipment to China of large quantities of gold and cloth. The Chinese Government will sell the gold to absorb its vast amount of inflated note circulation. The cloth will be distributed at reasonable prices in an effort to lower mounting costs. AUSTRALIANS IN BOUGAINVILLE SYDNEY, July 22. Six Australian divisions are fighting on a 3000-mile arc from Bougainville to Borneo. This was revealed with the announcement that troops of the sth Division had sealed oft' 40,000 Japanese in the Gazelle Peninsula of New Britain. It is the first time in this or any other war that Australia has had six divisions —a total strength of nearly 100,000 men—fighting at one time. The sth Division landed in New Britain on November. 4, 1944,- but, for security reasons, no earlier announcement could be made, says the Commonwealth Army Department. .These considerations no longer exist. The six divisions in the field are: The 3rd and 11th Divisions in Bougainville (Solomons); the sth Division in New Britain; the 6th Division at Wewak (New Guinea); the 7th Division at Balikpapan; and the 9th Division at Tarakan (Dutch Borneo) and in the Brunei-Sarawak area (British North-west Borneo). The sth Division moved to New Britain from Aitape, in New Guinea, when it was relieved by the 6th Division. Infantry of the 3rd Division are holding a firm front on the west bank of the raging Mivo River in south Bougainville. They have been deluged with 15 inches of rain in three days, and all major operations have been halted. The Mivo River, the biggest in Bougainville, is roaring down at 15 knots. BRITAIN’S NAVAL POWER SHIPS IN FAR EAST. LONDON. July 20. The formidable strength of Britain’s ever-expanding naval forces fighting Japan was revealed to-day in a statement by a naval spokesman that partially lifted the secrecy hitherto surrounding the size of the fleets. Three 35,000-tori battleships, the King George V, the Duke of York, and the Howe, with five aircraft carriers, the Indefatigable, the Indomitable, the Illustrious, the Victorious, and the Formidable, five cruisers, and 12 destroyers, head the British Pacific Fleet under Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser. The British East Indies Fleet includes the 32,000-ton battle-cruiser Renown and two battleships, the Queen Elizabeth, and the Valiant, supported by the French battleship Richelieu. With them are seven cruisers and 14 destroyers. Apart from some ships requiring refitting, most of the powerful warships of the British Navy have now been transferred from home to Far Eastern waters. The battleships under Admiral Fraser’s command are three of the four newest of the British Navy. Two of the aircraft-carriers, the Indefatigable and the Indomitable, are sister ships and the others are of 23,000 tons. The Renown, in the East Indies Fleet, is of 32,000 tons, and ships of the Queen Elizabeth class are of 30,000 tons. A floating shipyard left from the north of England to-day for service in Far Eastern waters, equipped to the last detail to carry out hull repairs of al! kinds. She was built as a merchant ship, and has been converted in to workshops, with storage space and accommodation for a crew of 300 and a working party of 200. The third deck has roomy workshops laid out over the whole width of the ship to give every available inch of space for handling heavy steel plates. The shin also carries special diving gear ( and has its own staff of divers.

JAP. NAVAL STRATEGY. NEW YORK, July 20.. The Tokio radio quotes Admiral Takahashi, a former naval command-er-in-chiei, as saying that the Japanese navy remains unshaken, and soon will go into action. The day of victory was rapidly approaching, he said. Japan’s air arm was being withheld until the right moment arrived, and then, together with the surface force, it would unleash that “one last blow.” Takahashi conceded that Japan could not now use her surface forces independently, except in suicidal actions, because of American air superiority. He said the reverse was true early in the war, when Japan was able to chase the enemy as far as Hawaii and Australia. These early successes were possible because Japan s mam naval strength—namely, air force strength—had overwhelmed the enemy air power. With the Japanese navy in a similar situation, Japan was obliged to rely on air and sea suicide missions in order gradually to snatch away the enemy’s air and sea supremCX , n The radio broadacst two versions of Takahashi’s article. One promised a sudden blow against the Allies. The other, for the homefront listeners, admitted that the Japanese navy’s cautious tactics were dictated by the Allied sea and air superiority, but he promised that this advantage would be gradually whittled down. Takahashi emphasised that air strength had entirely changed the status of the combined fleet, reducing the battleship to a mere auxiliary. He added that as long’ as the air tor.ee. which was the mam strength, was sound, the navy’s present inability to fight did not matter.. U.S.A. SUBS’ TOLL WASHINGTON, July 21. The U.S. Navy announced: American submarines sank two minesweepers, two patrol escort vessels, a large cargo transport, a medium transport, three small merchantmen, a small freighter and a medium freighter. JAP. CAMPS INSPECTION. (Recd. 1.30 pan.) WASHINGTON, July 22. The State Department disclosed, that Japan had agreed to permit neutral observers to visit prisoner-of-war camps. When Spain ceased acting for Japan after receiving unsatisfactory replies to protests against treatment of Spaniards in the Philippines, Japan asked Switzerland to take over the protective diplomatic, representations. Switzerland agreed on condition that Tokio allowed observers to visit all the camps where Americans were held by Japanese. MALAYA RUBBER RUGBY, July 22. Full details of the scheme worked out between the Malayan rubber industry and the United Kingdom Government, to organise the rehabilitation of estates in the face of an expected shortage of staff and labour supplies, are now published, writes an industrial Correspondent. A company has been formed called the Malayan Rubber Estate Owners Company, which will arrange for the fair distribution of goods services for their economical use, by concentration of productive operations, and will provide for an inspection party to report on the condition of the estates. For the purpose of the scheme, estate owners are required to organise

themselves into groups of not less than 100.000 planted acres. In the first ohase after liberation, the United Kiungdom Government will act as buyer of all rubber available, and has arranged to set up in Malaya a rubber-buying unit.