Evening star., 1940-11-02

silence. CuTe # E*s$ 81
thermore, there N
have been no
military and ma
val movements >''''"''@ ''' ''''''7F'
to indicate that Constantine Brown.
plans for an expansion In the South
Pacific are going to materialize IN
the near future.
Two explanations are being offered
in diplomatic quarters for this sud-
den silence.
The first is that the German AM
bassador at Toxic, who appar-
emily has much to say IN
the formulation Of Japans for
eign policies, has urged the gov
ernment to say little and prepare
itself fully for whatever may be the
equivalent in Japanese Of Der Tag"
1t appears that counting on the
long distances between Hawaii and
Singapore. the Japanese had In
tended to make q coup against some
Of the Dutch East Indies possessions
without the meticulous preparations
the Germans require when they de-.
eide to strike.
The German military and naval
observers objected to q hasty ex.
pedition when they discovered that
the Japanese navy and the trans
ports which were designated to &C.
company the fleet were not 100 per
cent prepared.
Fear Setback for Axis.
They are reported to have made
strong representations to the En-
peror himself, pointing out that even
a minor setback would AFFECT not
only Japan alone but also the cause
of the European end Of the axis.
These representations were needed
by the Japanese general staff. and
deep silence shrouded whatever
preparations may be made at the
present time in the Japanese ship
yards.
The other explanation Is that
everything is not going smoothly In
Japan. The country has been at
war since 1882. The people, who be-
lieve that the intentions Of the
government were confined merely to
the annexation of Manchuria, ac-
cepted without a murmur the sacri-
fices necessary for that operation.
They were pleased with the results
and thought that this would be the
end of Tightening their belts. that
Manchuria would provide many
things to put the country on its
feet again.
They find now that they have let
themselves into an adventure which
might take years to settle. Unlike
Germany and italy. the Japanese
are dependent on their sea-borne
trade. They have little to eat at
home. The war in China makes 1t
impossible to obtain much from
that country. China today barely
provides the food for the armies Of
occupation. Indo-China might give
Japan a large quantity of rice but.
according to reports, the crops have
been poor this year and there is
about enough food in that recent
near protectorate" Of Japan to feed
the natives
Two Axis Powers to Be Fed.
Neither Germany nor Italy need
fear hunger this year despite the
British blockade. They can take all
that the fertile plains Of the DA-
nubian basin produce and feed their
populations. II the Mediterranean
becomes an Italian German-French
lake, the vessels plying between the
North African and the French and
italian ports will no longer be
threatened by the British navy. Un-
der such conditions, the large Mo-
roccan and Algerian crops could be
transported to Europe. The French
and the Belgians may get some
crumbs but the bulk will go to Ger
many and Italy.
Japan has nowhere to turn for
her food except the sea and the
little that is produced in the coun-
try. She depends on imports, and
these could be cut of If she is not
careful in planning her military
operations.
The population does not see quite
clearly the great aims of the general
staff which is ruling the country
now. 1t may be that the population
cares little about the grandiose
expansionist plans Of the govern.
ment and would rather have the
men who are fighting in China back
and more to eat at the scanty two
meals a day.
See Wisdom of Advice.
The Japanese government feels the
underground swell in the country
and realizes that the German mill
tary friends in Toxic are right when
they warn the military advisers Of
the Emperor to be sure Of victory
before an undertaking. They know
that while q Japanese setback
might be inconvenient to the powers
OF the axis, 1t would become dis
astrous TO the country itself and
incidentally to the military, now
running 1t.
How long Toxic will remain silent
and inactive, nobody quite knows.
1t depends on many things which
have nothing to do with the Far
East itself.