DEFEAT OF JAPAN

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25357, 12 November 1945, Page 6

DEFEAT OF JAPAN

BRITAIN'S BIG SHARE

GREAT BLOWS PREPARED 3,500,000 FIGHTING MEN. LONDON, Nov. 9 "I think it well that this country and the world should know the extent of the effort we were preparing against Japan," said the Prime Minister, Mr Attlee, in his speech before leaving for the United States. "Our forces, after destroying about 130,000 Japanese who operated against us in Burma, were preparing to advance to Siam, while further forces comprising 250,000 men from all parts of the British Commonwealth were preparing to liberate' Malaya and Singapore and thus open a short sea route to the Pacific. "In the South-west Pacific there were six Australian divisions and we wore preparing a composite Commonwealth force of Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and British troops to lake part in the actual invasion of Japan. In total, we were planning to deploy in India and east of India 2,500,000 troops. "The Royal Air Force, together with the Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Indian and South African Air forces, would have put into the air 177 combat squadrons, of which 20 would have been heavy bombing squadrons particularly detailed for the strategic night bombing of Japan. "The British Pacific Fleet, already large when Japan fry, was -O be built up to some 540 ships of all kinds, including four battleships, 11 large carriers, 18 small curriers, seven Hotillas of destroyers, and 3-10 landiiig-oralt. Ibis would have included Canadian, Australian and New Zealand ships. In addition there was the British Last Indies Fleet which, including South African, Indian, French and Dutch ships, made a total of 435 ships and 740 coastal and landing-craft. "The total number of fighting men and women from the Empire and Comraornvealth would have numbered 3,500,000, of whom approximately 1,750,000 would have come from this country alone. I make these figures available not to boast, but to show, that we were doing our bit to play our full share in the same way as wo nave done in every other theatre of war." MALAY TERRORISTS THREAT TO THE BRITISH (Reed. 6,30 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 10 A mysterious terrorist organisation operating throughout Malaya has started a rumour sweeping through the bazaars that "the night of long knives" for the British and their friends will fall before November 15, says Renter's correspondent. The only discernible object of this organisation is to paralyse the British military administration by producing chaos. Its hand is seen by the authorities behind the recent food riots and labour troubles. No British personnel have so far been molested, but thousands of families in Malayan towns are living nightly in terror behind barred doors. Some are under military guard. JAPANESE ASSETS CHINA AND MANCHURIA SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 10 Before leaving by air for Tokyo. Mr E. Pauley, United States representative on the Reparations Commission in Germany, said he was anxious to arrive in Manchuria as soon as possible to investigate reports that Russia had been removing industrial machinery. '1 be United States policy was to leave Japanese assets intact in Manchuria and China, where they would be considered part of' the reparations to the Chinese. He took the view that Russia, who entered the Pacific war at a very late date, was entitled to no reparations from the Japanese, or at best to very little.

DEFENCE OF TOJO LAWYER REFUSES CASE TOKYO. Nov. 10 A former criminal lawyer, Fusaaki Uzawa, president of Meiji University, who was appointed to defend Japanese war criminals, has declined to take part in the defence of the wartime Prime Minister, Tojo, because, lie says, "Tojo was personally responsible for the war.' ; Uzawa said Tojo should bo given a fair trial, though he did not deserve it. Tojo's trial would be important inter-' nationally because he headed the Government at the outbreak of the war. Therefore, the judgment would set an important precedent in international law. Uzawa added that Emperor Hirohito should not be classed as a war criminal because he did not take part in the Government and did not have the power of veto. PREFERS ARBITRATION NEW SOUTH WALES LABOUR SYDNEY. Nov. 10 A declaration affirming the principles of arbitration and conciliation has been made by the New South Wales executive of the Australian Labour Party. It stated 'that by industrial arbitration the law of reason had been substituted for the law of force. Industrial arbitration had given to I workers of Australia better conditions than were enjoyed by any other workers in the world, added the declaration. There were men in the ranks of the trade unions who were preaching another policy—the policy of collective bargaining, which would throw overboard the system of industrial arbitration. These men were false prophets, and the road to which they would lead trade unionists was the road back from the law of reason to the law of force, which would menu disaster to the whole of the trade union movement and the political life of the country. ARRESTS IN SPAIN PLOT AGAINST CABINET (Rcrcl. 6.a0 p.m.) MADRID. Nov. 11 Twelve persons were arrested following the discovery by the secret police of what is described as a Communistinspired plot to ambush and kill the entire Spanish Cabinet whose motorcars were to have been machine-gunned on their way back from a Cabinet meeting at Franco's residence, ten miles from Madrid. Renter's correspondent says the attack was to have been made from a wood under cover of darkness YOUTH PARLIAMENT HEADQUARTERS IN PARIS (Reed. 0.30 p.m.) LONDON. Nov. 10 At its concluding session the World Youth Conference decided to establish the headquarters oi the World Parliament, of Youth in Paris. It appointed an executive committee comprising British, American, Chinese and Russian representatives and three joint secre* 1 aries. The conference received n message front Marshal Hokossovsky urging the complete extermination of Fascist I forces "who even now are scheming I for an even more destructive war."