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Show Need Time for Democratic Roots to Take Hold in japan By BAUKIIACE l'pwi Analyst and Commentator. I WNU Service, 1G16 Eye Street, N.W., Washinifton, D. C. WASHINGTON. Recently one of Japan's liberal newspapers took occasion oc-casion to admon ish its readers against substituting substitut-ing General Mac-Arthur Mac-Arthur for the emperor as an object of reverence. rever-ence. The paper pointed out that MacArthur was a symbol of democracy, democ-racy, but not a living god. In so doing, the editor touched on a matter of deep ' r .1 i i 'J M i significance to Baukhage the future of Japan Ja-pan and one which poses one of the greatest problems of the occupation. I doubt if most people realize it. This situation was revealed to me by a very earnest and very widely experienced observer, just back from Japan. The burden of his theme was the strange unreality which seems to envelop the life of the Japanese people like a mist. Let me give you, as nearly as I am able, the gist of his Impressions, supplemented supple-mented by other current reports of on-the-spot observers. The remarkably successful record made by General MacArthur In one year's occupation of Japan can be written down on the credit side of America's postwar undertakings. It is, nevertheless, only a beginning. be-ginning. Unless the structure is completed on the foundation we have laid, all of our work will go for nothing. On the negative side, we have disarmed dis-armed Japan and destroyed its military mili-tary machine. We have taken over Its industrial power. The business monopolies have been broken up. On the positive side, according to MacArthur's own report, "the average Japanese no longer cringes . in the presence of the police or other public authorities; his home has become be-come his castle; he registers his opinion on public issues, uncontrolled uncon-trolled except by his own conscience; he enjoys the right of assembly and petition; he worships as he chooses In accordance with his individual religious faith; he enjoys the un-trammeled un-trammeled right individually or collectively col-lectively to demand correction of unjust labor practices; electoral discrimination dis-crimination has been removed." That is probably literally true. But it does not tell the whole story lor, according to my informant, there are indications that the progress prog-ress made, the reforms achieved in the political, economic and social life of the country, are only forms and it will take a long time many years before those forms can be hardened into enduring substance. The reason for this is that the life of the individual Japanese and acts of their government, actually are dominated by a supreme power which, while it is not constantly visible, visi-ble, is no less potent that is the power of the U. S. occupation forces. Recover From Stunning Loss At first the Japanese were utterly Etunned by the suddenness of their crushing defeat. Gradually they discovered dis-covered that they were being well treated and they assumed a co-operative attitude, an almost servile loyalty, obedience, friendliness and an apparently complete sympathy with the Americans. But that does not mean they actually have absorbed ab-sorbed our culture, socially, politically political-ly or otherwise. Nor does it mean that they have been able to build up any real or lasting structure of their own. An utterly exotic democratic demo-cratic culture has suddenly been superimposed upon them. It would be absurd from the standpoint of human psychology or human experience experi-ence to expect that Japan, an almost feudal nation, a land of powerful tradition and a thoroughly oriental viewpoint, could possibly about-face in a period embracing even decades. Certainly not in years. In addition to the wide gulf that exists between Occident and orient, there are many obstacles which stand in the way of the achievement of a democratic Japan. Let us look at this conquered country through the eyes of a man who had the opportunity to study, first-hand, the rise and fall of democracy in Germany under the Weimar republic. It so happened that this observer also watched the attempts at the westernization of Turkey after the last war. Both ( Germany and Japan Hved in a seml-I seml-I feudal atmosphere for centuries. Of course, the Germans belonged to western civilization but ever since 1870 they grew under what amounted amount-ed to a military dictatorship in a highly disciplined society, a rigid class system with complete subservience subser-vience to authority. In these respects re-spects Japan is similar. j Like Germany, after World War I I, Japan has suffered a crushing de- feat, has deposed an emperor, has I absolutely no training in democrat- ic organization or democratic ac- J tion, no experience in parliamentary parliament-ary government as we know it. Political Po-litical parties organized in the sense that we know them were utterly strange to both nations, and both i peoples lived under an economy and a society based on the support, morally mor-ally and materially, of a huge army and navy. These are some of the difficulties which the Weimar republic faced and the young Japanese democracy is facing. Strong anti-democratic Influences represented by big business busi-ness and the aristocracy of blood and uniform, common to Japan and Germany, are at least latent in the former. But perhaps the greatest parallel danger in Japan today and the thing that eventually destroyed the Weimar republic is the economic situation produced by inflation. Many students of history feel that Hitler never would have gotten even a start in Germany if it had not been for the chaotic condition caused by the terrible inflation. Inflation today is one of Japan's' greatest problems. Economic Chaos Breeds Controls It is quite possible that the Weimar Wei-mar republic, even under the best conditions and with the material and moral assistance of the democratic nations (which it did not get) never would have succeeded. On the other oth-er hand, it never had a fair trial, for economic chaos forced the dic- I - - ? ' ? pHipiiiiP I 1 1 - lL i GENERAL MacARTHUR tatorship. There was no time to establish in the minds of the people or in the processes of government, a real, solidly built democratic philosophy. phil-osophy. It is inconceivable that without a long period of education the Japanese can evolve politically to the point which the Germans never nev-er reached. America's greatest bulwark of democracy is conceded to be the public school. A whole new curriculum must be laid down for the Japanese. At pres- j ent the shortage of books is serious. The old books are, of course, almost useless. There is likewise a short- age of trained teachers. ; Another factor essential to the growth of a democratic government j is security, without which individual effort cannot flourish. Today in Japan no Japanese worker work-er is sure that his wage in the rapidly rapid-ly deteriorating currency will provide pro-vide him a livelihood. No industri- j alist is certain he will have pur- chasers and many are not sure their j factories will be allowed to operate i until the question of reparations is settled. In other words, the Japanese lives, thinks, acts, by the grace of a superior su-perior force, the American high command. Remove it, and the antidemocratic anti-democratic forces will be let loose; maintain it without a solid foundation founda-tion of native grown democratic structure springing from the people themselves, and you are merely removing re-moving a substitute for a MacArthur or an Uncle Sam, or a Mikado, and another will quickly be found. |