NO MOVE YET

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21809, 4 September 1945, Page 3

NO MOVE YET

; ENTRY INTO TOKIO MACARTHUR WARY ,U.S. FORCES TOO THIN OCCUPATION SPEEDS UP ;ai a.m.) NEW YORK, Sept. 3. Although General MacArthur’s , pledge to keep the troops out of Tokio expired with the signing of the formal surrender, our modest beach-head on Honshu has not been expanded, says the New York Herald Tribune’s correspondent at Yokohama. Continued bad weather has slowed down the arrival of forces by air. Only 35 transport planes reached Atsupi yesterday. We 'are at present spread too thinly to occupy additional ground Furthermore. General MacArthur shares the Japanese Government's apprehension that the entry of troops into Tokio might' provoke an incident which would inflame the now stunned populace. ' For that reason we are not likely to cross the Tama River until we are strong enough to suppress trouble quickly.' General MacArthur has issued his first general order governing the Japanese actions under the surrender terms. The order provides that all factories, research institutions, technical data, patents, plans and inventions designed to facilitate war production be held Intact pending further instructions. Any disobedience of the surrender orders will be met by drastic summary punishment. Rushing, in Troops The main task now is to get in troops in as many strategic points as possible in order to demilitarise the Japanese forces and industries. The general orders which will follow are expected to take up questions dealing with demilitarisation but more and more emphasis will be placed on civil government. The present civil functions, are still almost entirely under the ImDerial Government’s discretionary authority, but soon General MacArthur will issue orders placing these under his general supervision. Previously our dealings with Japanese Were conducted in a somewhat vacuumatic state in which our authority was tacitly recognised by the Japanese, but they were still subject to bargaining and exchanges and requests. The Japanese defeat is now down in black and white. There can be no question who is giving and who is taking orders.

Japanese Impressed With Japan’s formal surrender an accomplished fact the Allied occupation proceeded yesterday at a quickened tempo, said the New York Times s correspondent in Yokohama. Tanks end heavy equipment rolled througn the streets of Yokohama and obviously impressed the Japanese civilians. American troops streamed down gangways in the Yokohama docks.

, The American authorities are still reluctant to spread their troops too thinly, even though Japan has formally surrendered and thousands of Japanese soldiers are demobilising. American troops now occupy approximately 700 square miles of Japan. ■ The Americans’ transportation remains the greatest bottleneck The Japanese agreed to provide 500 trucks, 250 .passenger cars, and 250 buses. Many of these turned out to be unserviceable. The roads are lined with abandoned vehicles.

Convoy Disgorges Eighth Army

As the Japanese delegation left the Missouri 2000 planes roared over the Tokio area to impress the people whom the Emperor was then telling that the surrender had been signed at his command, .reports the Associated Press correspondent. General MacArt'nur’s first order was for the Japanese to radio all field commanders to surrender immediately. Thus Japan returned to the size that Commodore Perry fbUnd her when he sailed into Tokio Bay in 1853 Thirty minutes after the surrender a 42-ship convoy entered the bay and began disgorging Eighth Arr troops at Yokohama. By nightfall 13,t "* had landed, bringing the occupation forces total to more than 35 000 remaining in the 700-square mile area south of Tokio. International law before the formal surrender provided that the only troops to enter the country were as a guard for the Supreme Allied Commander, but the floodgates are now open. Only thn Japanese police, who will be responsible for maintaining law and order, now may bear arms. All aircraft must be grounded and all merchantmen anchored.

Historic Flags Flown . During the surrender ceremony Commodore Perry’s flag rippled overhead in memory of 1853 and also the flag which flew over Washington on the day of Pearl Harbour. .The battleship’s band before the Japanese arrived struck up the Star Spangled Banner and then God Save the King. General MacArthur signed the surrender document with six pens, one of which was for West Point, another for the National Museum at "Washington. The disposition of one is undisclosed. Admiral Nifnitz presented one of the pens he used to Admiral Halsey. * Typhoons interrupted the flow of airborne supplies and troops from Okinawa to the Tokio area. The Tokio radio issued a warning that the year’s most severe typhoon was swiftly near- . ing Japan and might hit Honshu on Tuesday. The storm was last reported 700 miles from Formosa.