Evening star., 1937-11-05
''lmperial Headquarters.'

Whlle Brussels waves unWelcome olive
branches at Japan comes news from
Toxic of events that may precipitate
a vital change in the Far Eastern sit
uation. The government is about to
establish imperial general headquar-
ters," recourse not adopted since the
preceding Sino-Japanese conflict in
1894 and the Russo-Japsnese war a
decade later
On both of those occasions the pur-
pose merely was to unity the army and
navy command under the personal direc.
tion of the Emperor Meiji, without in
terfering with the functions of the cabi-
net. 1t is now planned to transmute
key members OF, the cabinet into men,
bers of the imperial headquarters stafI,
which would be clothed, under supreme
control of the sovereign, with autocratic
powers over all the empires affairs,
political, economic, military and naval.
The new deal, bearing all the earmarks
of dictatorship, is scheduled to come
into force by the middle of November.
1t would apparently mark the end of
even that veStige of civilian rule which
has been tolerated by the militarist
regime
Momentous as the proposed innova-
tion would be for the national life OF
Japan, its repercussions would be of
more ominous international effect. Cir
cumstantial reports are current in Toxic
that declaration of war on China may
Immediately precede establishment of
imperial headquarters. Japan, it ap-
pears, has so far refrained from calling
the conflict with the Chinese war" in
order not to subject herself to indict-
ment under the Kellogg pact for using
war as an instrument of national poll
cy." But in order to speed China's
capitulation by completely blockading
her coasts, japanese policy molders are
now considering formal proclamation
of war as the shortest cut to oblitera-
tion of certain awkward inconveni-
ences."
Conspicuous among these embarrass-
ing handicaps to more rapid suppression
of Chinas stubborn resistance is the
functioning of Hong Kong as the base
through which comes the bulk of Chi
nese war supplies from abroad. A full
fledged war blockade would involve in
reference with shipping into Hong
Kong and grave friction with Great
Britain. This is where Japan's new pact
with Italy comes in. Toxic relies upon
Mussolini's ability to keep the British
so preoccupied in Europe and the Medi-
terranean that their fleet would be pre-
vented from offering effective interfer-
ence with japanese operations along the
China coast, including the sea lanes
leading to Hong Kong. Thus the Italo-
Japanese pact would serve Japan's naval
purposes, just as the Germano-Japanese
pact is designed to promote kindred land
objects by menacing the Soviet Union
in Europe, thus immobilizing the Red
Army in the Far East.
Naturally there is no official admis-
sion of the actual motive underlying
the imperial headquarters project. But
as it was resorted to in the past only
on occasions of declared war, the in
ference is justified that Japan is on the
verge of far-reaching decisions to that
end. Having achieved its major OBJ
jective-conquest of North China-the
army yearns for early cessation OF hos
tilities, so that it can proceed to "con-
solidation" of victory. If this can be
facilitated by a strict blockade, it seems
reasonable to expect that the next de-
velopment will be- move to enable its
establishment.