WHO IS JAPAN’S LEADER?

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23278, 14 August 1945, Page 6

WHO IS JAPAN’S LEADER?

Emperor Is Remote And Sacred Military Element Always Powerful It is not easy to determine who is Japan's leader in the sense that we of Western civilisation look to one man to control our destinies. At. the head of the Japanese Empire, remote and sacred, is the Emperor. In him is invested all power, might, majesty and dominion. By virtue of divine origin and a line of Emperors unbroken for ages eternal, he is apart and supreme, not a mere institution of the nation. He is vested with the supreme command of the fighting services, and the three chiefs of the general staffs, army, navy and air, serve directly under his orders. This special position of the Emperor makes the advice of the General Staff final and conclusive. The policy of Japan in external affairs is thus in the hands of the Service chiefs. They have power to make war or to dictate peace, and behind them, there lies the yet unbroken power and influence of the military and naval commander. The War Machine The Japanese war machine, for many years, has been a vast organisation, wrapped in mystery, and functioning according to schedule. Before the war, half of it was permanently on a war footing. The war_ machine is created and controlled by the War Minister and the Minister for Marine, who are both members of the Cabinet. But the Constitution places both of them in a position virtually independent of the Government. They do not, like our Minister for Defence, voice the views of the Government, and carry out the Government’s policy. They voice the views of the Army and Navy; they have direct access to the Emperor; they are under his direct command, and are not amenable either to the Premier or Parliament. Parliament nominally controls the Budget, but if the demands of the generals and admirals be refused or modified, the War Minister and his naval colleague resign. They know full I well that only generals and admirals \ can fill these Ministerial appointments I under the Constitution. Consequently, i the military element has always been ! very powerful in Japan. I Rapidity of attack has always been j a marked feature of Japanese training on land, sea and in the air. They make a point of studying every contingency, and learning how to deal with it. In this thoroughness they are akin to the Germans, upon whose system the Japanese army is modelled. Provided nothing occurs to upset their carefully-thought-out plans, Japanese generals have few equals. But if things do not go “according to schedule” they are apt to be taken aback, and have no powers of rapid Improvisation. Training in Morale | Possibly the greatest factor in the training of the Japanese Army is the I almost religious fervour paid to Seishir ' Kyoiko (“training in morals"). It ini eludes a disregard for hardship, inI eluding “snow-marching” and “heat- ; marching.” and similar tests of endurI ance; the commissariat is reduced tt j the rice bowl and waterbottle, anc ; owing to the simple rigour of the regims I in the field, questions of supply anc I transport are far easier in the Jap--1 anese than in Western armies. There is an astonishing contrast beI tween the Chinese and Japanese atti--1 tude to war. 1 In Japan, the soldier, the warrior, i: of the highest caste: in China, of th< ! lowest. In Japan, the spirit of th) Samurai, the ancient warrier cast< prevails. To die for Dai Nippon is th< highest glorv of all. In China, the riel ; merchant was respected and almos revered; the profession of arms wa: despised and neglected; the soldier wa: ! lower than the.coolie, and the tnartia spirit was completely lacking. | Now it is the inevitable tasx of th( I Allies completely to revise the Jap- | anese Constitution.