A FALSE LEGEND

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26040, 2 January 1946, Page 5

A FALSE LEGEND

DIVINITY OF EMPEROR HIROHITO’S ADMISSION MESSAGE TO HIS PEOPLE (Rec. 9.30 p.m.) TOKIO, Dec. 31. In a New Year rescript addressed to the Japanese people the Emperor Hirohito declared that the legend that the Emperor was divine and that the Japanese people were superior to other races was false. “ The ties between us and our people have always stood upon mutual understanding,” he said. “ They do not depend on mere legends and myths. They are not predicated on the false conception that the Emperor is divine and that the Japanese people are superior to other races and fated to rule the world.” This epoch-making rescript is a complete denial of the doctrine that “at the heart of the people of Japan and at the head of the State of Japan is the Emperor, known to the people as Tenshi, Son of Heaven, or Tenno—the Heavenly King ” The Emperor alluded to the charter of the oath issued at the beginning of the Meiji era and besought his people to proceed unflinchingly towards the elimination of the misguided practices of the past and to construct a new Japan through being thoroughly pacific. “ Love of family and love of country are specially strong in this nation," the rescript continued, “ and with more of this devotion, we should now work towards love of mankind. The devastation inflicted on our cities, the miseries of the destitute, the stagnation of trade, the shortage of food, and the great and growing number of unemployed are indeed heartrending, but if the nation is firmly united in the resolve to face the present ordeal and see civilisation consistently in peace, a bright future will undoubtedly be ours—not only for this country but for the whole of humanity. “ We feel deeply concerned to note that owing to the protracted war, ending in our defeat, the people are liable to grow restless and to fall into the slough of despond. Radical tendencies in excess are gradually spreading and the sense of morality tends to lose its hold on the people with confusion of thought as the result. The Government should make every effort to alleviate these trials and tribulations.” General MacArthur, in a New Year message to the people of Japan, said that the removal of national enslavement meant freedom, but it imposed on individuals a duty to think and act on their own initiative. It was necessary for the masses to awaken to the fact that they had the power to govern. He hoped the New Year would be the beginning for the Japanese of the way to truth and light.