MACARTHUR'S JAPAN

[Music] the march of time [Applause] today after more than four years in Japan as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers better known as scap general of the army Douglas MacArthur still Bears the heavy responsibility of transforming into a peaceful and staple democracy the country which was lately America's Arch [Music] Enemy the attempt to establish a wholly New Concept of National Life in a land which has been bound for Centuries by rigid autocratic Traditions constitutes an experiment unique in world history [Applause] on September 2nd 1945 when the instrument of surrender was signed aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo bay and General MacArthur took charge of the occupation it was already evident that the task of democratizing Japan would require an enormous expenditure of effort and money though more than 50% of the homes in major cities had been destroyed and an estimated 900,000 had been killed in bombing raids the Japanese people hopeful for relief from the rigers of War willingly cooperated with their conquerors among the first jobs was cleaning away the wreckage of Japanese heavy industry most of which was left in Ruins and what remained of Japan's once powerful military machine was cut up for [Music] scrap as soon as the evidence against them had been compiled Japan's war criminals were brought to trial number one on the list was the notorious wartime Premier General hiiki Tojo who assumed official responsibility for the conduct of the war and did everything possible to exonerate his Emperor until the surrender Emperor Hirohito in the eyes of the Japanese people was a God the living descendant of the sun goddess who created heaven and earth realizing that Emperor worship had been the basis for Japanese unity and discipline the vict is elected to retain Hirohito as a symbol of the state though upon MacArthur's suggestion Hirohito denied his divinity his subjects nevertheless still respect him and even seem to prefer him in the role of an ordinary mortal today Hirohito finds his routine in marked contrast to his former Splendor a praic little man he lives quietly with his wife and two sons 14-year-old masahito and Crown Prince akihito who is 16 when not called upon to fulfill public engagements Hirohito spends much of his time on his favorite hobby studying marine biology he has become an international Authority on the mullus and seaweed of sagami bay meanwhile the destiny of the Japanese nation is being shaped by General MacArthur whose public appearances are usually limited to official functions of major importance he has been willing to accept invitations only on the rarest occasions usually devoting seven days a week to his job as Supreme Commander for the most part the general leaves a social amenities to Mrs mcar the Allied Council for Japan made up of Representatives of the US the British Commonwealth China and the Soviet Union theoretically consults with and advises scap in formulating on the spot occupation policy but the meetings of the Allied Council are notably brief and perun day-to-day decisions are almost invariably made by MacArthur who is the acknowledged boss of the occup chief of MacArthur's government section is Brigadier General cotney Whitney who has the job of keeping in close contact with Japanese leaders the occupation's biggest task is to encourage the Japanese to govern themselves in accordance with their new constitution approved by scap and adopted by the diet it became effective in May 1947 defining among other things hirohito's role as a democratic constitutional monarch in an effort to bring some comprehension of democracy to the Japanese scap sent out through the country 57 teams of instructors but though eager to comply the suggestible Japanese found the real meaning of democracy Elusive and to them almost [Music] incomprehensible the new constitution brought a radical change in the status of Japanese women no longer trailing along behind their husbands in public no longer inferiors but sharing equal rights with men women organized clubs to discuss their newly found freedom and to take an active role in civic affairs under the new democracy there emerged the office Seeker whose only hope of getting elected lay in having an appealing program which could win the support of his constituents rubber stamp office holders answerable only to the throne were gone in their places stood new westernized politicians complete with campaign bans and [Music] entertainers though the whole concept of government by public servants was an alien one the Japanese people seem to like the idea of freely choosing their own representatives in the government and in a completely free election in the spring of 1946 nearly 3/4 of the electorate went to the polls including 2/3 of the eligible Women Voters of the changes scap has made in the Japanese way of life none has met with greater success than its land reform until the end of the war nearly 3/4 of Japan's farmers were merely tenants paying their landlords from 50 to 70% of their annual crop but at scap's Direction the great Estates have been bought up by the government and resold to the Farmers on liberal [Applause] terms a focal point in scap's democratization program is the Japanese school system which has been provided with newly revised textbooks purged of militarism and has been staffed with teachers of non-national istic backgrounds [Music] Japanese State universities from most of which women were traditionally B are all co-educational today but despite efforts for democratic reform many young Japanese idealists and intellectuals are turning toward communism in its struggle for control of the Japanese mind the Communist Party of Japan directs its propaganda not only only to critics of occupation and government policies but to anyone dissatisfied with his [Music] lot its strategists are able men headed by Moscow trained party leader szo nozaga though the progress of Communism in Japan has been comparatively slow it still has a powerful appeal to the unemployed and to the impoverished masses for the party's principal weapon in Japan is not ideology but the promise of jobs and a full bowl of rice taking full advantage of the freedom allowed them under the new democracy the Communists at first held huge mass meetings but strategist nozaka now feels that large-scale National Action May well result in a showdown with scap or the Japanese government and that the aims of the party will be better served by harassing the country's economy with small but numerous strikes and [Applause] demonstrations the membership of Japan's Communist party is being enlarged little by little with the arrival of each new shipload of Japanese prisoners of War sent back from the Soviet Union some 95,000 former Warriors of nipon indoctrinated with communist Dogma before being allowed to return and home were scheduled for repatriation during 1949 while Japanese leaders hope that no more than 20% of these will remain Communists even that number is a source of worry to the government headed by prime minister shigu Yoshida the government's real problems in in combating communism are economic always largely dependent upon Imports for their food 1/4 of what the Japanese people eat today must come from the US with only a remote hope of eventual [Music] repayment the Japanese fishing industry which in pre-war days provided food for the home islands and for export as well is slowly being revived though fishing areas are limited by Allied agreement to the Northwest Pacific Japan's 600 shipyards are once more in operation and are permitted unlimited construction for foreign customers but vessels for domestic use are restricted in size and number the raw silk and cotton textile Industries upon which Japanese export trade was once heavily dependent are today back in operation [Music] but though the price of raw silk has been drastically reduced the decided preference of us women for nylon has virtually eliminated Japan's number one pre-war market for this commodity steel and other metals are scarce but the Japanese automobile industry is again in high gear turning out trucks at a rate of 2500 per month to help bolster the country's domestic economy at the Toyota Automobile Factory as in other Japanese industrial plants skilled workers like takishi Saito consider themselves very well off to be earning as much as $30 a [Music] month in accordance with Japan's new Democratic ways Saito and his fellow employees regularly attend Union meetings to discuss their working conditions and to hear reports from their leaders though most of the workers at the toyoto factory live in Barracks provided by the company Saito is lucky enough to have a home of his own bought by the savings of his [Music] parents despite the food shortage they usually manag to set a better table than most families with enough rice or noodles and fish and meal time for the saos is one of the happiest hours of the Day takishi saito's family is very small by Japanese standards there are his wife kazuya their daughter Cho and their 8-year-old son yoshinobu living with the saos are Takeshi's mother seki and his father matsutaro who are well SA Saied with their Good Fortune like all Japanese housewives kazuya Sayo has plenty of work to do to keep her family going for though her husband's wages are above average she must cut Corners wherever she can to get by on her daily visits the market near her home kazuya finds that food prices are still almost prohibitively high but living in the country does have its advantages at least fruits and vegetables are more plentiful than in the overcrowded cities while kazuya does her errands young yoshinobu and his friends often play baseball a sport which for 25 years has been as much the national pastime of Japan as of the US [Applause] [Music] like other Japanese women kazuya Sayo has become an avid follower of the day-to-day Adventures of Blondie a comic strip which in its portrayal of the lighter side of American family life has become a symbol of democracy at the end of his day's work and on his days off when he likes to fish with his son teshi Saito thinks of his own future and that of Japan today under the occupation the Christian religions of the Western World enjoy greater freedom and a better opportunity to flourish than ever before in history teaching by precept and example the ways of virtue charity and peace they are aiding in the struggle to bring Western ideas of right and wrong to the Japanese [Music] people but the ancient festivals of Shintoism are being revived once more and it was the very existence of this religion which made it possible for the militarists to establish the perverted Cult of State Shintoism fostering the belief that all mankind must be brought under the rule of the emperor and though Hirohito has publicly denied his divinity after years of being worshiped as a God he still receives the agulation of millions of his [Music] [Applause] people today most observers believe that the vast social experiment undertaken in Japan is making real progress but whether General MacArthur can succeed in so indoctrinating the Japanese with democracy that it will remain firmly established even after the occupation ends or whether the suggestible Japanese will follow China into the Communist orbit or at some future time return to the old totalitarianism no one can yet forell Time Marches On come