Evening star., 1941-02-03
All Hopes Of Amity
With Japan Believed
To Be Shattered Now
Emperor Won't Check
Army and Premier
Konoye Held Too Weak
(Sirth OF a SerieS.)
By A. L. STEELE,

of the United States. His last big
stroke as premier was TO sabotage
the army's plan for a military
alliance with the axis. That was
In the summer Of 1899. His last
big effort was TO negotiate basis
for genuine improvement in jap
anese- American relations. The effort
died aborning when the pro-FasciSt
government of Prince Fumimaro
Konoye stepped into leadership on
the heels of the German blitZkrieg
In Europe.
Since Prince Konoye took over.
extremists and visionarieS have been
rising to the top in japanese public
life like bubbles in a champagne
glass. Today, with the army behind
them, these disciples of the new
order" definitely hold the balance
of power in japanese politics The
Old elements still retain a fOothold
In the government and are putting
up a game last-ditch battle. but
they are weakening. 1t is hard to
see how anything can stop the radi-
Gals now but the collapse Of their
grand schemes. That will take a
long time.
KOnOye Is No Hitler.
It is strange that a government
so thickly studded with determined
men should be led by a man who is
almost wholly lacking in determina-
ton. Prince KOnOye is an idealiSt,
but he can never be a Hitler or
Mussolini His genius is his ability
to drift with the prevailing currents.
He has headed three governments
In Japan and each has differed
completely from the others in COM
pleXlOn.
Friends of Prince Konoye have
always assured the world that his
ultimate aim was to bring the jap
anese army under control and that,
given time, he would accomplish
his purpose. The fact is that the
army has made a definite advance
in each of the Konoye adminlStra-
tlonS.
Prince KonOye is the godfather
of totalitarianlSm in Japan, though
the real parent is the army The
Imperial Rule Assistance AsSocla-
ton was largely Prince KonOyes
idea. We we're told by KOnOyes
friends that here, at last, was a
device for checking the army, The
militarists would be induced to
play an integral role in the new
structure and would be obliged TO
conform to the will of the whole
But the militaristS sidestepped the
trap. They remain aloof, giving the
I. r. A. A. a certain amount OF
support and cooperation, but tax
ing orders from nobody.
Prince Konoye has said in private
that the way to control the miltarlSts
is to cooperate with them. This
theory suits the Soldier-politicianS
fine. They we'll know that while
Prince Konoye has only political
prestige at his back, they have
bayonetS. Extremists have sWarmed
into important offices throughout
the whole state fabric 1t looks more
and more as though Prince konoye,
instead of controlling the mill
tarists, runs a danger of becoming
their puppet.
The struggle In Japan is between
the new order and the old, between
the admirers of Hitler theology on
one SIDE and the capitalists, buSi-
neSsmen, politicians and old-Style
bureaucrats on the other. Between
them, as a kind of balance wheel,
stands Prince KOnoye. and in the
background, as spectators only, SIT
the masses OF the japanese people,
Obviously, in such Setup the
odds are heavily in favor OF the
army and its extremist friends. 1t
is useless TO expect any effective
opposition from the people as
whole. They are closer to the army
than to the moneyed interests. They
are sodden with nationalist propa-
ganda, doped with the hOkum that
it is Japan's sacred mission to save
the world regardless of the suffer-
ing it may involve. Moreover, they
are fanatically loyal to their En-
peror and inclined. therefore. to
accept the government for what
1t is.
Revolution Hopes Are Empty.
Speculation on the possibility OF
a peoples revolution in Japan IS
empty. If armed revolt comes IN
this country it is most likely to
come from the army. And its aim
will be not to check the extremists
but to strengthen them. The weapon
of assassination is an instrument
the ultra -nationahsts will not heSl-
tate to utilize should opposition
elements stand in the way.
On the issues of totalitarlanism
In Japan and a new order in
China. the army is having its way.
But the navy has to be reckoned
with in any consideration of the
broader issues of expansion into
the South Pacific and war with the
United States. The navy. too, has
its saber- -rattlers and its chauvinlstS,
chiefly among the younger officers.
But they are in the minority. The
older heads are international In
their experience and moderate In
their views. They have a healthy
respect for the strength of the
Anglo Saxon powers They look ap-
provingly on expansion as a prin-
ciple, but they will not willingly
consent to new adventures of con-
quest until the odds are more ia
vorable than now.
The japanese Emperor is reputed
to be an advocate of peace and
moderation and is the one man
who could check the army if he
would. However, being revered as
god, he is aloof from such
mundane matters as politics and
diplomacy. The best he can do Is
to exercise a gentle restraint on
japanese hotheads II a restraint
which has so far failed to bring a
decisive result.
(copyright, 1871, Chicago Daily News. Inc)
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