Evening star., 1921-08-07
JAPANESE consent
TO NOVEMBER Il
Foreign Minister Announces
Date for Disarming Con.
ference Agreeable.
c0NFERS ON NEGOTIATION
Former Premier Urges Money
Saved on Armaments Used for
Educational Purposes.
by the Associated Press.

ny the Associated Press,
iohlo. August 6.-Japan has agreed
TO November IL as the date for the
beginning of the disarmament con.
ference in Washington, as suRxested
by the United States, according to this
mornings newspapers.
Foreign Minister Uchida, the news
papers state, told the cabinet he had
informed Edward Bell, the American
cnarse d'afafres. that Japan had no
objection to November IL for the con.
ference date. .---
BritisA AAba.saAsr ee.fers.
Sir Charles Eliot, the British an.
bassador, had conference yesterday
with Foreign Minister Uchida over the
preliminary negotiations for the CON-
ference.
ihe disarmament question was
touched upon incidentally today by
Marquis okuma, former premier. in
an address to the education society.
II japan, he said. could save 100000
600 yen annually by armaments re-
duction it should all be spent in
education.
Whiie the powers are discussing
the program for the proposed confer
ence at Washington the trend of
public opinion here continues in the
direction of regarding the conference
as an epoch-making effort to re-
duce unremunerative expenditures and
reach a practical understanding on
| the needs and wishes of the nations
| OF the world. This is evident despite
the reiterated fears Of some pub-
! licists that, Japan will have the p,ace
OF "a chopping board" at Washington.
Constructive suggestions are being
| made, while the idea is beginning to
take hold that reduction of border
ornaments would permit Japan to
improve commercial development in
Asia. particularly in China, by di-
verting to industry the wealth spent
on warships,
Race Equality Raised.
Some of the members of the Ken
sei-Kai. or opposition party, favor q
! movement for japanese Chinese CO.
operation for the introduction at the
conference of the question of racial
equality. They also urge the in
| clusion Of Holland, on account of the
/ vital interests of that nation in the
far east, and the exclusion of italy
| because Of the absence of such in
terests.
Some Of the latest comment in the
newspapers indicates how certain
! Japanese circles are convinced that
the conference should be seized as an
| opportunity for the consideration of
matters vitality affecting the empires
economic future. After recommending
the destruction of the naval and mill
tary equipments of the Northern
f, Pacific islands Of Ponin, Liu-Kiu and
! the Pescadores and Hawaii, Guam and
the Philippines, the Osaka Mainfchi
Shimbun urges insistence upon equal
! opportunity throughout the world, the
establishment Of the principle of eco
nomic freedom by equitable distribu-
ton Of raw materials, free Immigration
of the race, with the guarantee Of
| ITeeOOIH 1OT ldOOT ana protection, the
sovereignty Of China and finally. the
establishment of peace policy to-
| ward Russia.
American Report Denied.
| A report printed by. the Hochi
Shimbun that Japan had received a
communication from the United
States suggesting the abandonment of
JapAn's claim to a special position in
China IL declared to be untrue. but
the newspapers insist that such q
proposal has been made informally
to Baron Kijuro Shidehara, the Japan
ese ambassador at Washington. They
say also that Marquis Curxon. the
British foreign secretary. has been
broached on the subject in connection
with the discussion of the agenda OF
the Washington conference.
The government Of the far eastern
republic Is desirous Of gbeing repre-
scented at the Washington conference.