Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-09-16
japan: Words and Deeds

If words were all that mattered,
we could look forward with conf
dence to complete regeneration of
the japanese spirit. Some of the
most highly placed leaders of the
country-men like Premier Prince
HigashiKuni and Vice Premier
Prince Konoye-are proving to be
most loquacious on this point.
They ask for an end to hate. They
admit Japan's responsibility for
starting the war. They acknowl-
edge the totality of the empires de-
feat. leaving no basis for a future
myth to the contrary. They accuse
their militarists of having in the
past made the Japanese govern
ment seem to be government of
liars. They agree that the mill
taristic influence must be forever
removed from the country. They
speak eloquently of replacing it with
new morality and a spirit of true
democracy. They say, in short, that
they are sorry, that their nation has
learned an unforgettable lesson
and that from now on it will be law
abiding, peaceful and altogether
trustworthy.
These proteStationS, of course,
may be wholly sincere. They may
honestly reflect what is in the heart
and mind of Japan today. But
still, even though the Higashi-Kuni
government backs them up with
such gestures as request to help
round up the individuals on Gen
eral MacArthur's preliminary list of
war criminals, we must receive them
with the greatest reservation. We
must keep in mind, for instance,
that the japanese spirit, having
been spirit of aggression for more
than so years, is not the sort of
thing likely to lend itself easily
to regeneration. We must keep In
mind, too, that man like Higashi-
Kuni, who now condemns the mill
tarists, has himself been a soldier
most of his life, and that a man
like Konoye, who now sings the
praises of democracy, eliminated all
free political parties in 1910 by or
ganizing the totalitarian Imperial
Rule Assistance Association.
Accordingly, although it is pos
sible that the current outpouringS
of repentant japanese words repre-
sent a genuine change of heart, we
could do worse than remember
what General Wainwright said the
other day: Il have seen the Japa-
nese as they are-with the veneer
stripped off. I have come to
know the cunning with which they
conceal their true nature and how
quickly it leaps forth when there is
no immediate chance of retaliation.
. The japanese can be subservient;
they can be pleasant and CO.
operative if it suits their purpose.
But the men who were captured on
Bataan and Corregidor have seen
the Japanese character in the raw.
They have seen what japanese
soldiers do when they are on top,
and I think all of us who lived
through tortured days are deter
mined that they shall never be on
top again"
General Macarthur. who feels as
General Wainwright does, has acted
wisely in ordering that the Japa-
nese be educated to the atrocities
committed by their armed forces.
He has done we'll, too, in making
clear to them, in unhoneyed Ian
guage, that the United States and
it's Allies do not regard Japan as
an equal in any way" but merely as
"a defeated enemy which has not
yet demonstrated right to place
among civilized nations"
1t is not the contrite and promis-
ing words of Higashi-Kuni or a
Konoye that count now. 1t is deeds
that count. Not until the contrite
and promising words are converted
into concrete deeds-a process likely
to take many years-can Japan
hope to regain the trust and good
will of the world.