Evening star., 1937-04-01
ELECTION FEARED
BY JAPAN'S ARMY
Ballot for New Diet Held
Likely to Deprive 1t
Further of Power.
BY FRANK H. HEDGES.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


TOXIC, April (NAN.A).-Dis-
solution Of the Diet, with subsequent
general election within a 30-day
period, as required by the Japanese
constitution, comes as no surprise to
veteran observers of the Japanese
scene. Such a move had been held
for some time over the heads of the
political parties as the army's chief
weapon against them, unless they
ceased their caustic criticism of the
army and its meddling in political
affairs.
The present Diet was elected on
February 20, 1886, and its ordinary
life would be for a fouryear period
No Diet in recent history has lived
through an entire four-year period,
although the last one came within
four short months Of doing so.
The dread the parties have of a
general election before one becomes
eonstitutionally necessary is the tre-
mendous cost it involves and, Of
course, the risk that each member
runs Of being defeated at the polls.
temporary Coalition.
This correspondent has learned that
the two major parties-Minseito and
Seiyukai-have struck working
bargain for the forthcoming election
campaign. They will form temporary
coalition for the 30-day election
period, the chief object of which will
be to see that Minseito and Seiyukai
candidates do not oppose one another
IN most electoral districts. The coun-
try will be divided between them on
basis, roughly, of their present Diet
strength, and the candidate of but one
party entered in each district This
means he will not have to go to the
great expense of spending penny for
penny with his Minseito or Seiyukai
rival.
There would remain, of course, the
Shakai Talshuto Labor party can
didate to defeat, but these candidates
never have huge sums to spend them
selves. There would also be some in
dependents, and the present non-party
government, working with the army
would seek to put its own candidates
In the field, probably in the form of a
newly organized party There would
still be election costs, but they would
be trivial compared to some of the
vast sums spent in the past.
Still another factor aids in remov-
ing the monetary menace Of an cleo
ton campaign from the parties. The
large private banks industrial corpora
tionS and business in general fear
that If parliamentary government in
Japan is vanquished and form of
military fascism replaces it, the next
victim will be private capitalism They
foreSee state control, ownership or
outright confiscation of much of their
wealth. Naturally, they would much
prefer to furnish the parties with
ample campaign chests if by so doing
they can defeat the militarists.
Outcome for Army.
Now, how does the approaching
general election appear to the army?
A few months ago the army felt
It could go before the general public
of Japan and defeat the parties at
their own game. causing the election TO
the House of Representatives of men
pledged outright to support the army
in all it did. That feeling is rapidly
vanishing.
The Japanese Army has been given a
taste-and it proved very bitter
taste-of public opinion in the empire
within the last few months. The first
such blow to military pride came when
the German-Japanese anti -comintern
agreement was announced and virtu-
ally the whole Of the japanese public
turned against it, denouncing as al
most treasonable the conclusion of
such a pact in secrecy and without
finding out what the public thought.
The other and still stronger doses of
public opinion that the army has been
forced to swallow have come out of the
extremely disturbed and colorful po-
iitical situation. When the Diet con-
vened for business January 81, the
war minister was bitterly attacked in
the Lower House, lost his temper and
demanded dissolution and an election.
Premier Hirota, knowing better what
the public thought, refused. His cab
met resigned The moderate retired
Gen. KaZunari Ugaki was then named
by the Emperor to form the next min
istry, and the whole country rallied to
him as one man-all but the extremist
element in the army. This group said
that under his premiership, military
discipline would be impaired What
they meant was that the higher officers
were not certain they could prevent
their subordinates from staging sec
ond military revolt or something re-
sembling it. The army blocked Gen.
Ugaki's efforts to form a government,
but it destroyed almost the last of the
remnants of popularity it enjoyed with
the general public
Factors Influencing Voters.
Adverse economic conditions.
mounting prices, failure of the Man
churian expedition to pay for itself
the certainty of increased taxes In
order to meet the army's abnormal
and growing appetite for money have
all played important parts in making
the army increasingly unpopular with
the average Japanese
The reopening Of the Diet, after
Gen. Senjuro Hayashi had succeeded
IN forming makeshift ministry, gave
the parties new chance to open their
attacks on the army and they were
not slow in utilizing it. Speaker after
speaker in the Lower House lampooned
and pilloried the army as the cause
of the nations WoeS &C rocnopcihle For
the rising cost of living, as meddling
In politics forbidden by the Emperor) =,
As so bungling Japan's foreign rela-
tions that even war might follow, and
as being unable to maintain disciplina