Evening star., 1941-02-02
Little Businessman
In Japan Confronts
Rising Problems
Victim Of Attempt to
Achieve State Socialism
In Quick Order
(Fitth OF a SerieS.)
Ry A. T. STEELE.

TOXIC (By Clipper Once there
lived in Toxic cobbler who did
prosperous little business making
high quality shoes for well-to-do
japanese and foreign residents here.
He was a polite and very obliging
little man, and he took great pride
in his craftsmanship, which was
the product of at lifetime Of hard
work
The other day they found the
cobbler hanging from tree near
the great temples at Nikko. He was
the victim of totalitarianiSm. Con-
fronted by diminishing rationS OF
leather, restrictions on luxury
goods" and increasing government
regimentation of small business, he
had simply given up with the fatal
ism so characteristic of his race.
There are thousands like him in
Japan, small businessmen who are
being pushed around by their gov
ernment in a way which wouldn't
be possible in democratic country
without a tremendous furore-all
victims of the governments attempt
to achieve state socialism in Japan
in the shortest possible time.
Rice Dealers Suffer.
Among the worst sufferers are the
dealers in rice. There were tens
of thousands of them before the
government decided to take over
and centralize the distribution Of
rice. The majority OF rice dealers
were forced out of business, and
when they complained they were
told they could move to cold and
inhospitable Manchukuo, where
land would be provided for them.
Very few have taken the govern
ment's advice. Most would prefer
to starve in Japan than freeze in
Manchuria.
So much for the little fellows"
In Japanese business. There is not
much they can do about the gov
ernment's totalitarian experiments
but submit to them with fatalistic
resignation. Not so the rich and
influential compradore clans of
Japan-the MitsuiS, the MitSurbiShlS
and the SumitomoS-Who stand to
lose their power, prestige and much
of their wealth if state socialism
becomes a fact in Japan. They are
retreating, but it is fighting re-
treat They are not yielding with
out determined resistance, and on
their side they have a strong mi
nority in the government which the
extremists will have to get rid of
before they can have everything
their own way
Hotbed of Sentiment.
The japanese Army is pressing
the government to bring the CAPT
talists and businessmen of the
country into line with the greatest
possible dispatch. The militarists
look down on the merchant class
with scorn as the last stronghold
of 'individualism" and liberalism. >
Moreover. Japan's entire capital
istic and political system has been
rooted since the beginning of the
Meiji era in Anglo-Saxon tradi-
tions and pro-BritiSh sentiment.
The army holds that Japanese big
business must be uprooted from
these impure foundations and re-
planted in the clean soil of totali
tarianiSm.
japanese businessmen suspect
and fear that it is the army's pur-
pose to relegate the japanese mer-
chant class to the same lowly
status it held before the Meiji res
toration. In those feudal days the
soldier stood first, the farmer sec
ond and the merchant a humble
third. A reflection of this view can
be detected in a recent statement bv
Baron Kiichiro Hiranuma, Rightist
leader. who proclaimed to japanese
that they must return to the vir-
tues of old Japan. He compared
Japan to a precious jewel. whose
brilliance has been dimmed by the
accumulated dust of liberalism and
individualism. It is the aim of the
present reform movement, he de-
clared, to brush off this dusty coat
ing and restore the luster of the
gem beneath.
Warning Against Haste.
Just as Japan's totalitarian po-
litical structure is still half baked
and far from completion, so also
Is the drive toward planned econ
omy still in its beginnings-al-
though the upheaval already has
been of considerable proportions
Repeatedly businessmen and indus
trialists have warned the govern
ment that haste may have dis
astrous consequences. But the
army presses reckleSSly on, attempt
ing to repeat Hitler's accomplish
mentS in a fraction of the time
An ominous view representative of
that held by many japanese busi-
nesSmen was expressed by Ginjiro
Fujihara. former Minister of Com
merce and Industry, shortly before
he gave way to a reformist success
sor. He said:
"A complete turn toward planned
economy is manifestly impossible.
But if it were attempted, then in
describable chaos would, I fear, re-
suit. AS it is, with only partial
control. a state of confusion eX-
lists. What must be the result if
complete control should suddenly be
imposed on a liberalistic system?"
This is the voice of big business,
fearing the worst but hoping for
compromise.