Untitled

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23279, 15 August 1945, Page 5

is now the best course for them to taka. Some would die—or at least make most of the people die—in the last ditch; others are for peace on any terms till the terms can be broken; the result is a compromise to postpone surrender as long as possible. The writer insists that we should be on guard against assuming that with the Emperor reduced to a tool in the hands of the Supreme Allied Commander all difficulties will easily be overcome, and reminds that the Emperor cult was revived in the last century to serve the militarist and economic ambitions of the Japanese ruling clans.

Despotism, tempered by assassination, is a fair description of Japan through the last 30 years. When Hirohito performs what the Allies demand from him—that is to give, the Japanese Army and Navy leaders orders to surrender—it is uncertain whether they will all obey. Those who do may be in peril of their lives from the more ferocious and more fanatical warriors. The Allies must be prepared for treachery now, and the only security for the future is the establishment of a system which militarists cannot dominate.