Manchester Democrat., 1921-08-17
JIAE JAPAN AN IS IS FRIENDLY FRIENDLY
TOWARD AMERICA
ALONzO WELLS WRITES OF OBJ
SERVATIONS IN JAPAN DURING
PAST THREE YEARS
OLD PREJUDICEs BROKEN DOWN
Education Of Children Is Compulsory.
Laboring Classes Are Demanding
Better Conditions
(By Alonzo Wells)

(By Alonzo Wells)
In order to discuss the politica
situation in Japan 1t is quite necessar,
that we go back few years and gel
slight understanding of the political
conditions in Japan previous to the
present time. For several centuries pre.
yious to the time that Perry entered
the ports and by this entry opened
them to commence, Japan was com.
pletely closed to foreigners, no foreign
ships being allowed to enter her ports
and no Japanese ships being allowed
to go more than short distance
away from the japanese ports. Ii
can readily be seen that his policy
had a tendency to in some degree mar
row the view point OF the Japanese
as regard to the outside world, and
due to the comparatively short period
OF time which has elapsed since the
opening of the ports, the effect OF
this seclusion is still felt to greater
or less extent.
Old Prejudices Broken Down
At the time Of the last emperor,
Neil. Japan developed new policy
In which she attempted to overcome
to as great an extent as possible the
prevailing prejudices against foreign
ers and against foreign commerce and
he encouraged in every way possible
the admission Of foreigners into Japan
as merchants, investigators, scientific
men, ETC.. and also encouraged the
Japanese to go to foreign countries
to study the civilization, the customs
and to obtain foreign commerce. The
present Emperor has followed in the
footsteps Of his father and has en-
couraged even to greater extent the
intercourse between foreigners and the
Japanese. At the present time we have
an insight into this policy in that the
Crown Prince for the first time in
the history OF Japan has left the Jap
anese shore and is now visiting foreign
countries becoming acquainted with
their customs and ideas regarding
V ! & =
world affairs.
Education Is Compulsory
One most important item in the
study of the political conditions is the
education of the Japanese people. At
the present time it is compulsory that
the children obtain an education, al
though the present term of compulsory
attendance at school is quite limited
due to the facilities, which are very
inadequate to accommodate the number
of students seeking admission. The
schools are divided into the primary
or public school. middle school, higher
school and technical higher schools
and the universities. At the present
time even as low grade as the mid
die school only admits students by
competitive examinations, large ma
jority of the children being unable to
even attend these schools and as
the student progresses he finds it
even more difficult to gain adj
mission into the higher schools
and universities. Inasmuch as
the mastery of the written
language of Japan, which is mix
ture of the Chinese characters and
the Japanese Kama, of which there
are So main characters, each repre-
senting syllable of word, and SIS
or thereabouts characters represent
ing composite syllables, requires more
time than is given in the primary
schools, we find a large majority of
the population, who, while they nomin-
ally may read newspaper, still they
can not obtain the full meaning. We
thus find especially in the interior
of Japan people, who in the meaning
of the term as we know it, are al
most illiteTate.
Labor Coming Into Its Own
At the present time in Japan we
also find great change taking place
between the various classes and more
terest and labor. A few years ago
labor had no power to organize or
to instigate in any way any movement
which would tend to better their con-
dition in either financial way or
as to the hours or conditions of labor.
The making of a speech on this sub
ject by a laborer or a man who at
to ally himself with the labor
interest was subject to heavy fine
and Imprisonment, but at the present
time we find labor becoming organized
and during the past six months there
have been several strikes, which in
each case have been won by labor.
Universal Suffrage Is Coming
AS regards the rights of suffrage,
while nominally the parliament is
elected by the people, the rights of
suffrage have been only in the hands
of very few mostly the more wealthy
and more influential in the govern
ment affairs. But at the present time
these rights are being extended and
a great agitation Is now in progress
which has as its end universal suff-
rage, and it is the writer's opinion
that within a very short time the ma
jority Of the men of Japan, and 4 is
not unlikely that women, also. will
be given the right of the vote.
We thus see that at the present time
Japan is in the stage of being over
hauled within itself and that it is only
a question of time until there will be
such change in the government that
she will probably become government
very similar. if not identical to that