Evening star., 1945-08-15
Possible Jap Revolt
Stirs Allied Tension
Liberals May Take Revenge on
Militarists, Says Writer
BY David Laurence

Militarists, Says Writer
BY David Laurence
Will there be revolution in Japan?
Will the Allied forces be required to
maintain order?
This is the question that overshadows
all others as the first period of tension
ends.
For years there has been a liberal
movement in Japan. Many of its tead-
ers have been assassinated by the mil.
itarists. Will the liberals now take
revenge and purge Japan of the militia
rists who forced policy of war on
Japan beginning in 1881 when they Or
dered the seizure of Manchuria?
Perhaps when the answer to that
question is known, we shall know what
delayed the Japanese reply. 1t may be
presumed that the Emperor has sided
with the liberals. 1t is quite possible
that the militarists hoped against hope
that the Allies would insist on deposing
the Emperor and thus make possible
prolongation of the war and fight
to the bitter end. The Allies did not
get caught in that trap, but decided to
work through the Emperor step that
all those who are familiar with the JAP
anese internal situation have believed
was essential.
Policy to be Vindicated.
Many persons unfamiliar with JAP
anese affairs insisted in the last few
days that the war should have been
prolonged so as to get rid of the EN-
peror; but they evidently forgot that the
parents of the American boys overseas
were not willing to see lives sacrificed
to satisfy that sort of uninformed
opinion
The delay in getting the answer from
Japan may some day be ascertained to
have been due to the need for preparing
the situation inside Japan. 1t is for
tunate that the Emperor was retained,
because he alone could issue the neces-
sary legal orders to suspend hoStilities
The Allied policy of retaining the En-
peror at least temporarily will be soon
ternal problems of Japan are disclosed
When it is considered that only about
80 hours intervened between the time
Japan offered to surrender last Friday
and the announcement of her final ac-
ceptance at o'clock Tuesday evening
ternational communication in diplomacy
were broken.
Certainly the process Of ending the
World War was not as speedy as this
and also no other government in modern
times has had the problem of ordering
such tar-hung military force to lay
down its arms and turn them over to
the victor. The Japanese have about
100000 men in North China opposed
to the Russians, another 1,000,0 900 in
South China and possibly another 5O0,-
600 in Malaga, Sumatra, Java and the
outlying islands-all spread over many
thousands of miles. In Germany the
entire force surrendering was COM
pressed in a single land area not over
300 miles wide, but here communica-
tions with overseas forces of the enemy
was also necessary.
Obstacles Inside Japan.
Considering these obstacles of distance
and communication and also the fact
that the Japanese government had to
prepare the people inside Japan and the
military and naval forces there for a
complete about-face, it is perhaps re-
markable that the whole job was done
by the Tokyo government in less than
so hours. 1t is not known, of course,
how many weeks may have been given
by Japan to the formulation of plans
for surrender. The evidence rather in
dicates that the japanese government
had planned to surrender even before
the atomic bomb was dropped, but the
militarists, who had nothing to lose by
prolongation of the war except their
lives-and their fate was sealed any
way-perhaps tried to postpone the
final judgment.
The War and Navy Departments will
undergo slackening of tension even
tually. The commanders overseas have
been instructed to be vigilant against
uprisings of japanese troops who may
be Influenced by last-ditch militarists.
Our high officials will not breathe easy
till our occupation forces are safely
ashore and the spirit of the Japanese
people in accepting the occupying armies
is revealed.
A detailed plan for surrender ar
rangements has long been drawn up
The orders have been in the hands of
our overseas commanders for several
days. 1t remains now for the military
agreements arranging the details Of the
surrender process to be signed, and then
the American forces will 60 ashore to
raise the American flag in Tokyo. Only
when that has happened can the sec
ond period of tension be considered to
have ended.