Fear Grave Upheavals In Japan

Northern Advocate, 21 August 1945, Page 3

Fear Grave Upheavals In Japan

(Rec. 1.0 p.m.) NEW YORK, Aug. 20 Beaten on the battlefield, economically crippled and lacking: sufficient food for the people, Japan is on the verge of an internal upheaval, judging from Tokio broadcasts.

The apparent fear of a public outbreak is voiced continually. Officials and newspapers are appealing to the people to maintain- peace and order. The Justice Minister (Dr. Chuzo Iwata) told the Press that the Allied conquerors might take a hand if local authority failed. He warned them that Japan in the future would have to face a considerably different position from that when she was still powerful militarily and financially, because she was now a defeated nation.

Sinya Saka, Tokio’s new chief of police, warned the force that postwar maintenance of peace and order would be drastically different from that during the war. The “Nippon Times” emphasised the grave difficulties confronting the Cabinet in maintaining general peace and order. It pointed out that control of the military presented the Prime Minister (Higashi Kuni) with an even greater problem. Higashi Kuni, in a nation-wide broadcast over Tokio radio, urged the Japanese to maintain strict discipline and the utmost equanimity in the face of the current situation. He added that the blood flowing through his veins told him that the Emperor’s authority was conclusive. Every member of the nation had a responsibility in assisting His Majesty on a basis of equality.