Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-06

Japan, WtleEc GIley greatly SCrengLleleQ
and encouraged the radical movement.
Under the direction of the Third In
ternational the followers of Marx in
Japan combined to form a Communist
party which, this time, was founded
upon calculations of workers and peas
ants. In August, 1925, the Communist
party was organized under the name of
Nihon KyoSanto, the Japanese Com
munist party. Its first general meeting
was held on the 4th of December, 1926,
at certain remote hot spring resort.
AT this gathering the party's aims were
declared and a covenant was made.
In 1927 some of the leaders of the
party went to Russia to show their pro-
gram to the central committee of the
Third International. The program was
thoroughly revised to conform to the
ideas Of headquarters in Russia, and
the leaders returned to begin a cam
paign OF propaganda among the pro-
letariatS.
The first general election under uni
versal suffrage gave them an excellent
opportunity to begin their work. The
leaders Of the party went all over Japan
trying to organize celluleS OF workers
in factories, or to split the existing
parties so as to form Communist fac
tons within other political groups.
On March IS, 1928, more than 400
people were arrested for organizing or
participating in the organization of the
Japanese Communist party which had
for its object the communication of
production. Among those arrested were
many students, both men and women,
among whom were some Of those who
had been formerly accused in the Kyoto
University case. The party seemed to
be controlled, however, by those who
had risen from among the workers, in
spite of the fact that the intellectualS
in the party were in most cases better
versed in the theories of Marxism.
The government was alarmed and
adopted thorough-going program cal
culated to suppress radicalism once and
for all Besides a strict supervision of
education, the government decided to
alter the act for the maintenance of
public welfare, to increase the number
Of procuratorS versed in radical move
mentS and to reform the section Of the
police department dealing with inter-
national affairs. In addition, three of
the labor organizations holding extreme
radical views were ordered to disband
and five professors in various imperial
universities, including Prof Kawakami,
the most eminent authority on Marx
ism, were forced to resign.
%* -
According to the revised act for the
maintenance of public welfare, those
found guilty of founding any organi-
cation aiming at the alteration of the
foundation of the state as provided by
the constitution, and those having
charge of the business of such an
organization or in any way acted as its
leader, should be punished with death
or servitude or imprisonment for life
or for q period of not less than five
years; while those who knowingly par
ticipated in such an organization or
who knowingly forwarded the aims of
such an organization should be punished
with Servitude or Imprisonment for a
period Of not less than two years. The
original act remained unchanged. The
revised act has been in force since June
30, 1928.
In spite of these precautions on the
part OF the government however, the
efforts Of the Communists have not
ceased. The Japanese students in the
University OF Moscow were ordered to
return to Japan to I'LL the vacancies
caused by the large number of arrests.
Thus they were again successful in re-
organizing their party BY the end OF
, 1928 they had contrived to send their
members to large number of factories,
but workers in these factories were I'M
willing to risk being thrown out OF
work or mourning the displeasure Of the
authorities. It was a time of severe
industrial depression, and to many Of
them the new doctrines were less inn
portant than keeping their places in the
factories.
Thus the Communists found their
work much slower than they had hoped.
While the number Of those entering
the party was comparatively small,
there was 10 lack of enthusiasm among
the new members, who were recruited
for the most part from among young
men and women dissatisfied with the
distribution of wealth, or who had
suffered at the hands Of the govern
ment for their radical beliefs. But the
new party was not long allowed to en-
Joy its convictions In peace. On April
IS, 1929, two hundred and ninety-f1ve
people we're arrested, accused Of having
committed the offenSeS designated in
the act of maintenance Of public well
fare. As q result of these arrests, vir-
tually all the leaders Of the Com
munist movement were rendered irnpo-
tent.
For the time being, at least, the ac-
tivities of the parties having ultra radi-
cal inclinations have been so crippled
that it is impossible for them to do
anything of importance. Here and
| there there may be o sporadic at
] tempt to reorgarize, but with the
leaders Tendared helDleSS hy ir1prisons