The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1907-01-04
CENSORSHIP
IN JAPAN

at the exclusion of Japanese children
from San Franciscos schools, mention
was made of the part the Toxic news
papers were playing in tanning the an
ti-American sentiment. Later 1t was
cabled that the Toxic papers had
changed their tone. Here is a good
Illustration of the power of the jap
anese censorship.
Probably the explanation of this sud-
den change on the part of the Japan
csc press is simple-the same one in
deed that accounted for the sudden
smothering of the editorial voice of
protest after the treaty of Portsmouth
was signed last year. A little note
| from the premier to all the editors of
Toxic, carried by a smiling and bow
ing gendarme and delivered with many
protestations of regard, doubtless
warned the Toxic newspaper heads
that further exploitation of the griev-
ance of japan against San Francisco
would be displeasing to the government
and that regrettable measures would
follow If the warning was disregarded.
The incident serves to explain the
position held by the press in Japan
be given the vernacular press, but the
closest surveillance and the hardest
repression is, as a matter of fact, the
condition under which the papers are
allowed to exist. That smiling, bow
ing gendarme from the premier's office
with his little note of warning has al
ways to be considered.
The japanese have a deep regard for
the power of government. The only
ment that has occurred during the Meij
era was that following the declaration
of the peace at Portsmouth. 1t was
quelled by the troops in three days.
Whatever is done by that small gov
erning group, the elder statesmen, in
reality advisers of the emperor but
having no official place in the scheme
of government, is accepted implicitly
by the people as being the law. The
doings of parliament may be assailed
with Western fervor and the actions
of the ministry may sometimes come
under public question; but never does
the mandate of the elder statesmen,
clothed in the orders of the premier,
find acceptance in a manner other than
| that of blind obedience.
The papers in Japan somtimes thun-
der against the pariamentarians. Edi-
torials often depart from the decorous
in their tone and denounce the acts
of some public officer or set Of officers.
But when that close circle about
the person of the emperor speaks, not
even the yellowest journalistic dog
barks. 1t is dangerous.
The premier of Japan may at his
discretion and without appeal from his
mandate, suspend or confiscate any
offending newspaper or magazine pub
lished in Japan, either by citizens or
foreigners. Upon his orders local
magistrates may fine any publication
that breaks the rules. There are no
court proceedings.
The arrest of an editor may be ac-
'companied by the confiscation of his
paper or it may simply serve as
warning that confiscation is impending.
In this case the culprit is tried on a
criminal charge and fine or imprison-
ment may be his portion. Every paper
in Toxic is said to have a staff of Jail
editors, men who are employed to go
to jail when the government fist comes
down. They serve the term in prison
hi he
course, duly sobered by the prosecution
of the government.
Some instructive instances of the
governments regulation of the press
occurred during the war. Then the
censorship bolts on the papers We're
screwed down and the lid was weight
ed with the tremendous authority of
the war cabinet.
To publish anything that might be
information of value to the enemy was
a high crime against the government
and it was made punishable by simple
fine, by fine and Imprisonment or by
the suspension or confiscation of the
offending publication. Arising out of
the rigors of this mandate there came
into being cryptic form Of news para
graph.
1t would be printed that "a certain
regiment. under command of a certain
general of the the division had adj
vanced against the enemy in the direc-
ton OF Mo-tie-ling." Or the news
would be given out that "a certain
squadron had been ordered to unite
with another certain squadron for the
reduction of Kabafuto"
once when there was a plague in
Kobe and the police were trying to ex-
terminate the disease-spreading rats
the native translator for an American
paper in Yokohama turned In the fol-
lowing piece of news, which was print
ed without change:
The police of Niponbashi-ku yester-
day killed a certain rat In front of a
certain house on Honchodori. which
was found to be afflicted with the
plague"
Some time near the end of the war
the Osaka Mainichi, one of the largest
and most influential papers in Japan,
published the fact that a torpedo de-
stroyer, built entirely in Japan, had
Just been launched at the navy yards
In sasebo. The Mainichi was heavily
fined.
An English newspaper in Kobe