ANXIETY IN JAPAN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25304, 14 August 1943, Page 5

ANXIETY IN JAPAN

AMISSION BY TOKIO STRENGTH OF ALLIED DRIVES NEW YORK. (Rec. 10.50 p.m.) Aug. 13. Tokio official radio reveals Japanese anxiety by admitting that the Allied offensives are pushing ahead and that the Prime Minister, General Tojo, has held conferences on how Japan’s strength may be increased. General Tojo. stated the radio, had met the Cabinet Advisory Board and other officials for a frank exchange of views on measures for making Japan’s armed forces stronger. A Tokio commentator, broadcasting to Japanese-occupied areas, complained that no matter how many times the enemy was hit he still advanced. “ The desperate Allied counter-offensives in the war, which is gaining in ferocity., never seem to end,’’ he said. With Tokio admitting that the war strain is being felt by Japan, President Roosevelt made a special broadcast to the Philippines in which he said: “Japan is already tasting defeat sn the South-west Pacific, but that is only a beginning. I give the Filipino people my word that the Republic of the Philippines will be established the moment the power of the Japanese is destroyed. You will soon be redeemed from the Japanese yoke and you will be assisted in full to repair the ravages caused by the war.” The Daily Telegraph’s naval correspondent declares that Japan’s reluctance to risk her heavy battleships has seriously weakened her navy. Japan now has only 21 cruisers and 78 detroyers, he says, according to officially published figures in America. No navy responsible for extended sea communications can endure attrition at the rate Japan is being called on to do.