JAPANESE RULE

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25172, 9 April 1945, Page 6

JAPANESE RULE

NEW CABINET FORMED PREMIER'S RESOLVE LEADERSHIP OF NATION (Reed. 6.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, April 7 The Tokyo radio announces that Suzuki has formed his new Cabinet. In addition to the Prime Ministership, Suzuki will hold the portfolios of Foreign Minister and Minister for Greater East Asia. General Korechika Anami is the new Minister of War, and Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai Minister of the Navy. Anami was formerly Director-General of Armv and Aviation Headquarters. He was Vice-Minister of War before the attack on Pearl Harbour. Yonai was Prime Minister from January to July, 1940. Other New Ministers The other Ministers are: — Minister of Finance. —Toyosaku Hirose. Minister of Munitions, -Transport, and Communications. —Teijiro Toyoda. Minister ot Education. —Kozo Ota. Minister of Homo Affairs.—Genki Abe. Minister of Agriculture and Commerce. —Takeshige Ishiguro. Minister of Information.- —Hiroshi ShimoHiura. . Minister of Welfare. —Tadahiko Okada. Minister of Justice. —Hiromasa MatzuMinisters of State. —Seizo Sakonji and Hyogoro Sakurai. The Chief Cabinet Secretary is Hisatsune Sakomizu, and the Chief of the Legislation. Bureau is Chokkyo Murase. The radio says Suzuki's efforts to form a Cabinet were delayed by an air raid on Tokyo yesterday. Army Commands The Tokyo radio also announces that Field-Marshal Sugiyama and FieldMarshal Shunroku Hata have been appointed over-all commanders of the Japanese Army. Suzuki in a statement broadcast by the Tokyo radio said: "The enemy has now firmly established himself on our homeland. If the situation continues like this our nation's existence might be threatened. "I am firmly determined to lead the nation and am prepared to offer my life itself at the foremost front in this .task. My sincere wish is that the nation will do its best to set the Throne's august mind at rest in elevating the nation's fighting power." ENDING OF PACT COMMENT IN RUSSIA CHINESE JUBILATION (Reed. 6.30 p.m.) LONDON, April 7 The first Soviet comment on the Russians' denunciation of the SovietJapanese neutrality pact bluntly reminds Japan of her occupation of a Soviet maritime province during the civil Avar and of the innumerable frontier clashes and armed conflicts which followed. The Moscow radio stated: "Russia r was gradually forced after Stalingrad to sacrifice her independent foreign policy in the interests of her AngloSaxon Allies. The time has come to undo all existing international pacts " M. Molotov's declaration to the Japanese Ambassador surprised nobody in Moscow, least of all the man in the street, who had never concealed his feelings toward Japan, savs the Moscow correspondent of the British United Press. It is recalled that the Kremlin, even in the darkest days of the German advance, did not permit Tokyo to blackmail Russia into making concessions. It is reported in Moscow that Japan was so anxious to maintain the neutrality pact that she offered to nullify the' Treaty of Portsmouth, under which Japan received substantial concessions at the end of the Russo-Japan-ese war in 1904. The Chinese press jubilantly hailed the fall of the Koiso Cabinet and Moscow's denunciation of the Japanese neutrality pact. The newspaper Ta Rung Pao, appealing for a speedy Chinese counter-offensive, predicted that the war against Japan would end earlier than was popularly expected. The army newspaper Sao Tang Pao said that possibly Japan would continue to fight with all her strength, but at the same time seek peace terms. The newspaper pointed out that the Russian Far Eastern Army was at full strength and Japan could not further deplete her army force in Manchuria. PACIFIC STRATEGY THE ALLIED COMMANDS (Reed. 6.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, April 7 High British officials said the appointments of General Mac Arthur and Admiral Nimitz were entirely satisfactory to Britain, reports the Herald-Tribune's Washington correspondent. The climactic Campaign against Japan proper will be directed by American strategy and command, but this does not affect the British determination to send every available man, ship and plane to the Pacific after the European victory. The present Allied strategy also calls for Admiral Mountbatten to continue as Commander -in - Chief, South-east Asia, with Malaya, Sumatra, Java, Thailand and probably Indo-Chma and Borneo included in the .command.

It is not anticipated that a supreme Allied command in the Pacific, as in West Europe, will be established. It is thought that if Russia declares war against' Japan the Russians will retain command of their own Pacific forces, Converting the war into a three-front affair, with the Russians operating from Siberia, tlio Americans moving in from the Philippines and the Central Pacific, and the British mopping-up South-east Asia and the Netherlands East Indies. MINISTER TO GERMANY (Reed. 6.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, April 7 The Domei news agency states that Shinjiro Inouye, an official of the Department of Investigation, will go to Germany as Minister Plenipotentiary. HIGH OFFICERS KILLED (Reed. 6.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, April 7 The Tokyo radio announces the death in action of Lieutenant-General Kuribayashi, commander on Iwo Jima, and Rear-Admiral Ichimaru, commander of the naval forces at Iwo Jima. NEW CZECH CABINET FIERLINGER PRIME MINISTER (Reed. 7.15 p.m.) LONDON, April 7

M. Fierlingor, the 55-year-old Czechoslovak Ambassador to Moscow, has formed the first Czechoslovak Combined Government on home soil six years after the occupation of Prague, it is officially announced. It is a coalition "National Front" with the Left prevailing. The Communists are strongly represented. In a Cabinet consisting of 22 members, three seats each have been allotted the Czech Communists, the Slovak Communist's, the. Social Democrats, the Czech Socialists (formerly the Benes Party), the, Czech Catholic Party and the Slovak Democrat Party. There are four non-party members. Sixteen Ministers are Czechs and the rest Slovaks. Five of the ten Ministers from the London "exile" Government have been given portfolios. M. Jan Masarvk remains Foreign Minister and General Svoboda (Commander of the Czech troops fighting in Russia) takes over National Defence. The key portfolio of the Interior goes to M. Vaclav Nosek, a Communist, who has lived in London during 'the war. M. Ripka, formerly Minister of State, takes over the new department of Foreign Trade. The President, Dr Benes, bas returned to his native country after six and a-half years in exile, according to a .report from Kosice. M. Masarvk arrived in London on Friday en route to San Francisco.