VISIT TO JAPAN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21899, 18 December 1945, Page 2

VISIT TO JAPAN

CONTROL BODY

N.Z. REPRESENTED

SERIES OF MEETINGS

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, Dec. 18. It was announced yesterday by the Prime Minister, the Rt, Hon. P. Fraser, that the Far Eastern Commission, which has been in session in Washington since the end of October, will hold a series of meetings in Japan in early January.

The New Zealand representative on the commission Mr. C. A. Berendsen, the New Zealand Minister in Washington, will be assisted at the sessions of the commission by LieutenantColonel G. R. Powles, Mr. James M. Bertram and Mr. F. H. Corner, of the Department of External Affairs. The

services of Lieutenant R. R. Cunninghame R.N.Z.V.R., at present in Japan with the rßitish Pacific Fleet, engaged in Japanese translating work, will also be available. New Zealand was invited to participate in the commission by the Governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, the U S.S.R., and China. Other members of the commission are States which have also actively participated in the war against Japan and which are principally interested in an area of the Western Pacific—namely Australia, France, Canada, .the Philippines, Netherlands Indies and India. The immediate task of the commission is to formulate a policy for the control of Japan and for the fulfilment by Japan of its obligations under the instrument of surrender. Directives are issued to the supreme commander on a basis of the policy decisions of the commission. By holding sessions in Japan and visiting various parts of the country, the commission will be able both to review and develop its policy and to observe the effectiveness of ihe various directives which have already been issued.