AIR RAID DEFENCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22654, 20 August 1935, Page 11

AIR RAID DEFENCE

JAPAN’S PRECAUTIONS CITIES “BLACKED OUT.” “Japan’s precautions against air raids are probably the most marvellously organised in the world,” said Captain W. Dawson Davie, formerly attached* to the transport division of the Australian Military Forces, who reached Sydney from the East on the Taiping last week. Captain Davie said that Russia could send a fleet of 1000 planes over Japanese cities within three hours, and this possibility was evidently one of the chief bugbears of the Japanese authorities. As a precaution, every city can be completely darkened. There were frequent rehearsals of the “ black outs,” and in the bedrooms of the hotels were printed directions what to do. At the Imperial Hotel, Tokio, the 640 electric globes could be covered with black shades almost instantly. The air defence precautions were so well organised that the cities might be darkened completely at the sound of a siren.

Captain Davie said that in the larger cities the fleets of taxi cabs were so modern that 1933 model cars w,ere about the oldest. The rates for taxi cabs and other motor transport were much below those in Sydney and Melbourne. A contributing factor . was that first grade petrol in Japan cost 9d a gallon, compared with Is 8d in Australia.