The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1945-05-29
By JAMES r. YOUNG

~ '@AsA - 80 ~ = 49,
on a stack OF Seventh War Loan
Bonds | would take an oath that
the two Japs who committed hara
kiri in the Nabi sub which was
brought TO Portsmouth. y. H.. kill.
ed themselves because they would
have lost face at being taken pri-
soner with their German partners.
Americans are puzzled by this
self-destroying spiritual obeisanco
OF Jap officers and their men.
A Jap who dives his bomber into
full lighted hospital mercy ship,
such as the L. :. S. Comfort, OF
Okinawa. trusts that the explosion
will send his spirit in flight from
his evil deed to a Shinto military
shrine at home.
These shrines are military tar.
gets as important as Japans two
four and six engine airplane plants,
and we must bomb them as well as
the hara kiri airbases.
To encourage these spiritual
deaths. the Emperor has designated
two brothers. Prince Chichibu and
Prince Takamatsu, to head an i'm.
perial suicide committee. Hiro-
hito's palace gang knows the value
OF exalting the glory OF the war
dead. His approval will embolden
repeated self.murder attacks. The
japanese. who feel the utmost rev.
erence for the emperor. ostenta-
tiously show a sacrificing spirit
only TO him. In peace time they
would leap in front Of high speed
electric trains. jump over water
falls, or plunge into steaming vol
cano craters. The war has re.
vealed how deep-rooted is hippo.
nese loyalty to the throne.
IL the Doolittle filters had been
permitted to bomb the palace. top
Japanese leaders would have used
their swords on themselves. Our
em9eror-coddling policy can length
en- the war. and II has not eased
the mistreatment OF American war
prisoners. On the eighth OF each
month, prisoners are compelled 10
bow as they listen to a reading OF
the emperor's declaration OF war.
yet we continue to support the
strongest mental weapon of the
Japanese militarists emperor
worship.
fear that we cannot expect
mass suicides until We have vigor-
Gus leadership in clarifying the
palace bombing issue. For exam.
pie. the chairman OF the Senate
Military Affairs Committee. Ebert
u. Thomas. wrote in a magazine
that the emperor rs never respon-
l1'Nle under japanese lays tor. acts
OF the Japanese government"
The Utah senator. who taught
in Japan from 1907 to 1912 and is
the author OF book in japanese.
overlooks the Japanese constitu-
tons provision that all laws arc
given sanction only by the emper-
or; that the empire OF Japan shall
he reigned over and governed by
the emperor" Hirohito opens and
dissolves parliament and even de-
termines legislation to pay military
and civilian salaries. He is In
supreme command OF the army
and navy. declares war. makes
peace. concludes treaties, proclaims
the law Of siege, orders amnesty
and confers titles OF nobility.
Senator Thomas and others fear
that we may tear down the sta
bilizing influence" of the emperor
and that to touch his person would
be deemed a sacrilege by millions
of Japanese!
II monitored FEC broadcasts are
correct. 1t is perplexing how jana.
nese morale could he more effec.
lively boosted than by our present
War and State Department policy
OF not condemning the imperial
system. Japan's all-out effort for
complete mobilization is enormous
and effective. In these circum.
stances 1t is impossible TO imagine
how our officials in Washington ad.
here to the view that the emperor 8
death would give a further sus-
tanned impetus to Japanese war re.
sistance. On the contrary. | be-
lieve that We should attack this
imperial menace and thereby bring