JAPAN

japan one of the world's oldest dynasties has abruptly become one of the newest of the democratic nation deep social changes come slowly in Japan that change has been started the Japanese problem is as old as its hills too many people on too little land an attempt to solve it by world conquest ended in devastating defeat the former wide flung island Empire has been narrowed to four main islands okido Honshu Shikoku and Kyushu the islands extend through the same latitude as do the states from Maine to Georgia they have a range of climate from cold and snow to Senate rafa chol heat they topographical face the terrain of the main islands is grim creased with mountains parked with volcanoes crossed by ravines and Swift streams the skimpy coastwise plane to the foothills armed tensely cultivated by contour farming but offer only a grudged living and can produce only a small portion of the food needed to keep alive than many people crowding into the swollen cities on these islands more than 80 million Japanese now must live and prosper if Japan is to survive as a nation Japan is the land of sharp contrasts behind the modern front are remnants of feudal customs and beliefs handed down through hundreds of generations from primitive times the line where legend ends and reality begins is sometimes a mere shadow an executive on his way to a hard-boiled business transaction may stop at a shrine for a prayer tu anari the Fox this is supposed to bring luck to a quick deal religious processions draw many followers yet greater crowds look to political cures for social ills these people are the raw material from them must be fashioned a self-reliant nation living at peace with the world an approach to this problem is to provide a strong democratic government and a decent standard of living if Japan is to help hold the barrier against anti-democratic forces in the Far East a first step is to bring up all resources to top level performance oil is a prime requisite copper mines are working at full strength fishing was is and most likely always will be one of Japan's great natural assets even the old pursuit of whaling has been revived cultured pearls have a world market the seeds used for plotting the pearls and the oysters come mainly from America from Mississippi River muscles shucking the oysters and harvesting the pearls is routine work but the final step grading and polishing requires great skill before the bits of Mississippi shall return as lustrous pearls Horace play a part in the nation's economy Japanese Lumberjacks are old hands at log rolling paper mills use a great percentage of the wood and much of the processed fault goes into newspaper stock the land is rich in hydroelectric power mountain streams provide the natural source of power and high tension wires carry it to city and countryside the great land holdings of the former overlords no longer exists 3 million small tenant farmers have been given the opportunity to buy the acres they work the land is now one of personally own tiny farms averaging less than 3 acres each with rice the major crop working these small farms manpower is literally manpower and woman power human muscle still must do much of the work citrus groves employ thousands of workers women do most of the harvesting steep slopes and a long slide put gravity to work getting the ripe fruit to the packing houses both men and women do the crating and shipping tea growing is almost as old as Japan itself the same four foot high shrubs live for hundreds of years giving crop after crop of tender leaves some tea gardens have been in the same families for generations before the tea is set out for export professional tea samplers graved the quality mulberry cultivation is another great farm pursuit the plucked leaves are fed to silkworms raised in the farm houses okusama honorable little gentleman gives a living to half a million Japanese in the fillers or factories the silkworm cocoons are boiled to loosen the filaments the single strand of silk is carted than later spun into thread for the huge silk mills the manufacture of silk ranks first in the country's bid for export trade pottery to is a basic industry the land is rich in play deposits the Potters skill at his wheel it's usually handed down from father to son and a long family lime mass production has come into designing through the use of transferred the cows the freehand artist however still has a prominent place in creating ceramic works of art japan is building up a great steel industry the new order of the day is turning guns into two ton trucks Japanese girls make a part of the teams in automobile factories assemblies keep the work moving turning out small trucks and passenger cars here the Chessie's come rolling off the line pharmaceutical factories were among the first to be reactivated producing penicillin another wonder drug along with medical supplies at the end of the day's work labor union meetings may find workers discussing their status hours and pay this new dignity of the individual is carried into the workers homes in all social upheavals some of the evils go some of the good remains one of Japan's most gracious arts was that a formal etiquette in the home there still remains children receive instruction early here they are practicing etiquette built around the serving of tea in daily transactions etiquette is not looked on as a mere device for good business it is a matter of good taste and bowing on the street is considered just normal courtesy Westerners raise their hats Japanese bow another native talent is home decoration religion presents problems in the changeover shintoism has been outlawed as a state religion but it is still practiced by millions of Japanese Buddhism has a strong hold on almost as many Christianity is advancing there are more than 2,000 churches of various denominations many maintain hospitals and minister to the sick schools for the young Japanese come up with some devices unusual to westernize arithmetic includes instruction in the use of the age-old abacus teaching the ancient form of writing with brush and pot of paint goes hand and hand with instructions in a new romaji method using the ABCs to spell out phonetically the sounds of Japanese character writing newspapers are changing appearances front pages may look the same but most papers carry a section of romaji and the trend is toward reading across the page instead of up and down but the greatest change is on the political front in the government of the land the Emperor is no longer looked on as a divinity he is ruler of Japan and his son will step into the same position by inheritance but the sovereignty of the people rests in the hands of the people the Emperor moves about with the freedom of a normal citizen people now dare look at him talk to him even touch him his body is no longer considered sacred he is still viewed as a symbol of the people's unity but the symbol is political not divine the life of the imperial family too is now freed from walls and guarded gates the diet building has become a symbol of democracy for sessions carry it as a political token elective legislative bodies make the laws of the land the will of the people exercise can determine the laws free open elections have brought out a great surge of the usual types found fishing for votes in troubled waters the serious reformer finds a responsive audience the hillbilly type with fiddle and accordion makes his kind of appeal the crowds flocking to these meetings are of all types country bread and city folk men and women they see free speech practice not merely legalized politics lead to the polls voting as a novelty is wearing off casting the ballot is being accepted as a precious work right many may not know yet what it's all about but they're learning class rain doesn't keep them away in the small towns especially practically everyone casts a vote although there still may be a kind of one that a field hand or housewife is allowed to fill out a ballot in privacy and deposit it in a locked and guarded ballot box to the newly enfranchised voting is a serious business on the lighter side professional baseball draws great crowds not to be outdone the small fry dash out to the nearest empty lot for a pickup game but right around the corner there still may be other thousands packed in to watch an older form of competition an exhibition bout of sumo it will be interesting to see what television though to this ancient form of sport the great change over from the old to the new from despotism to democracy retaining the best of their ancient culture is in the hands of the Japanese people themselves and the greatest force rests with the growing generation the children they can create a democratic productive land taking its place in the world family of Nations for Japan they are the hope and for the rest of the world the promise you