OCR Text |
Show JAPAN DEBATES " ALLIANCE PLAN I1V II. . TilOMI'SON j Copyright l'.V t ' ni t'tl Tress TOKYO, Miirch .S l .in- Jnpfin-phc Jnpfin-phc lender? tin- !iij?ugc:l in urgent con.siiltatiunH over a Herman proposal pro-posal tor ft broad Orni'in-llalian-Japaiu-se military alliance against any opposition to their policies by the democracies. Informants said discussions were so bitter that a cabinet crisis might possibly be precipitated. Jt was said that iit present a majority of leaders were opposed to involving Japan in European matters but. were not willing to abandon the German idea unless a better' proposition were forthcoming forth-coming elsewhere. Huron Kiichiro Hinmuma, the premier; Hachiro Arita, foreign minister; Lieut. Gen. Seishiro Itagaki, war minister; Admiral , Mitsumasa Yonai, navy minister, and Snfaro Ishiwata, finance minister, min-ister, were .said to be in frequent conference in an effort to decide Japan's policy. I n connection with the alliance tnlk, it was disclosed that Baron Hiranuma had reported to Emperor Em-peror Hirohito today on the closing clos-ing of parliament and "pending diplomatic matters." As Hiranuma visited the emperor, em-peror, 10ti of the 4G6 members of the diet, representing minor parties, part-ies, sent him a petition asking him to conclude a military alliance alli-ance with Germany and Italy "against Great Britain and Fiance, which are obstructing Japan's present sacred aims." The petition was presented after the government had refused to permit introduction in parliament of a resolution to the same effect. In favor of the alliance, according accord-ing to informants, were the Russian. Rus-sian. Italian and German sections of the Japanese general staff. War Minister Itagaki was rep-1 resented as favoring an alliance j to cover the possibility of war I against Soviet Russia alone. |