Impressions of Japan

Waikato Times, Volume 118, Issue 19633, 20 July 1935, Page 13 (Supplement)

Impressions of Japan

(Mr E. H. Pickering, M.P., in English Paper)

To comPaRE small things with great, I made my visit to Tokyo in much the same spirit that animated Mr Anthony Eden on his visit to European capitals. I happen to be the only M.P. who has had close personal associations with Japan; and since Japan is admittedly the dominant factor in the Far East to-day, I 1 might render some small service to the cause of international understanding by going out there and putting myself in personal touch with present-day persons and events. A good deal of my time was neoessarily epent in the industrial sphere, for I represent an industrial constituency; but I was particularly interested in meeting the leading men in the political world, especially the militarists. And I found that these men, who are regarded with distrust and fear by many in this country, have the

Greatest Admiration For England. In Japan generally, friendly feeling towards England is running strong, but it is thpse militarists who, on the whole, show it most. It is Great Britain more than any other foreign Power that they would like to be allied with. Japanese militarism, even at its worst, is not what, for want of a better word, I will call Prussianism; nor Is it quite so narrow and self-regarding as we find nationalism in some other parts of the world. It finds its fullest expression in a selfsacrificing loyalty to the Emperor as the head and representative of the whole people. This, perhaps, furnishes a clue to the Japanese liking for Great Britain, the only great monarchical country in tno West. The ‘‘militarist’’ in the highest political position in Japan to-day, that of Prime Minister, belongs not to the army, but to the navy. This is Admiral Okada, a quiet, unassuming man of 67 years, who, after an honourable career in the navy and as Navy Minister, wn called to his present position less than a year ago. There are those, noth civilians and servicemen, who call the Okada Ministry weak, but that is mainly because they fail to realise that Admiral Okada was appointed for the special purpose of keeping things more or less as they are. At present a non-representative Government and an anti-Government parliamentary majority uneasily face one another in a state of reluctant but necessary compromise. . Although those mysterious forces, of which I just caught a glimpse, and which still influence most powerfully 'the destinies of Japan, appear to realise that the military hegemony has had Quite As Long An innings

as the country can safely stand, the way in which Japan will take up the course of parliamentary government is not yet clear. INO one better than Admiral Okada could have been chosen for the Premiership in this time of transition. Great sailor though he is, he is a sailor only on his ship and'in his uniform. At heart he is a simple citizen and a loyal parliamentarian. He is kindly and considerate, and devoted the greater part of a Sunday morning to meeting me, though ho was then in the thick of parliamentary work. Ho was dressed ■simply in a dark stuff kimono, and with his feet quite bare. My friend and interpreter Informed me that this was typical of the “ militarists,” especially those in the highest ranks. 'They live without ostentation, eat the simplest food, and show a Spartanlike contempt for comfort. It was towards me that the charcoal brazier was thrust as we sat down to talk; on that chilly spring morning I pitied the Admiral his bare, unwarmed feet.

He is a’sturdy man of rather small stature, with an honest face that wins confidence and a

Keen and Capable Mind.

With marked earnestness, he expressed envious admiration for the -British Parliament, and declared that his object, during his Premiership, was to -bring the Japanese Parliament nearer to ours. Then he went on to say that, as a navy man who owed much 'to the teachings of the British Navy, he particularly desired to see the development of Anglo-Japanese friendship to the full, because that was the best way of guaranteeing peace in the Paoiflo. He more than, hinted a regret for the passing of the old Anglo-Japanese Alliance. But there was nothing anti-American in his attitude. In my conversations with leading Japanese statesmen I gathered that Japan fully realises the peculiar position of the British Empire, and has no real objection to our

Legislator’s Views : Britain Admired.

Is'avy being larger than her own. It was for other reasons, I was assured, that -she felt bound to insist on equality. Admiral Osumi, the Navy Minister, was strongly insistent •on the 2:2:2 ratio. The basis of his expectation that Great Britain would agree to it was his feeling that the friendship of the two countries would

Always Ensure their Co-operation. I reminded him that in this life very few things are certain, but that one indubitable fact is that Great Britain is -mainly dependent on overseas -supplies for her food and raw material. I felt more nervous about my interview with General Hayashi, because, in the Wav Office, I expected to find that arch-fiend militarism against which my obstinate Liberal instincts would 'compel me to give battle. The General is a quiet, mournfullooking man with a long moustache drooping over a mouth which is said rarely to open. But he talked quite a lot to -me, probably because I flaunted my anti-militar-ism in his face and told him what some of us in England thought about the way the Army conducted things in Manchuria. He listened patiently and then, with a tired smile and a slight gesture of abnegation, accepted the position of prisoner at the bar, and -started on his defence. I cannot say that I got much satisfaction from him on the matter of the oil monopoly. For tho most part he was concerned to convince mo that the real reason why the Army had taken so much on itself was that the politicians were not to be trusted. But he admitted that the Army had made some mistakes, whioh, he believed, would not recur now that certain economic and financial experts had been given a free hand to manage those matters which properly belonged to them. Later, I had an opportunity of seeing in Manchukuo some of the changes to which he referred, and found the new machinery working none too ill. But I fear that the large amount of power which the Kwantung (Japanese) Army has been exercising in the new State has had a bad effect on the one-time

Austerity and Simplicity of the Soldier. Yet I found General Hayashi himself almost as -much civilian as soldier, and sincerely anxious to see Parliament functioning as of old—but with a more honest set -of politicians 1 He and his aide asked me to tell the people of England that it is misleading to think of the army -as ■militaristic.

But he who is regarded as 'the archmilitarist 1s no longer in the Cabinet. I mean General Araki, who is still, I believe, the idol of a-great part of the army, and revered by a large section of the people as the chief exponent of Kodo. This is a modern attempt to state the nationalistic -outlook of the Japanese in spiritual terms. To the visitor who remembers that General Araki was Minister of War during the most -ruthless enterprises of the Japanese army (1931-33), his appearance, manner, anld utterances are surprising. Despite his nearly 60 years, he has the face of an almost youthful saint, a charmingly -gentle manner to match, and he talks idealism with homely and humorous illustrations. For nearly two hours he expounded to me Hie principles of Kodo. Its fundamental principle, on which he laid great stress, was that every living man or nation has an inalienable right to .self-determin-ation. Everyone should be encouraged to bring the best out of himself, and no one must prevent this; all .should help each other to attain the fullest development. He -carried this into commercial relations. “If the Japanese are proceeding too selfishly,” he said, “with no regard to the injury inflicted on Lancashire, they are Not Acting According to Kodo. The Japanese must be willing to make some sacrifice.” These Japanese militarists are not quite the simple proposition we have too readily assumed them to be. They are on the whole idealistic, and some of them are democratic. At one time they seemed to be moving In the direction of Fascism, but Fascism appears now to be definitely -on the wane. -General Araki told me that he was utterly opposed to It, chiefly for the reason that it would be a threat to the Imperial dignity. On the whole, the effort to rehabilitate Parliamentarianlsm promises well, but there will have to be some sweeping changes in the personnel and methods of the political parties.