Evening star., 1954-02-14

that came in the wake of the
war. He saw restored a standard
of living which had disappeared
even before the war. He received
an unprecedented set of conSti-
tutional and civil rights. Finally
he was given a reasonable degree
of security from his only po.
tential enemies, Red China ano
Soviet Russia.
Yet, today. you hear the prov.
erb. "if you carry a man toe
long :"
In less poetic form, a membel
of parliament referred. in a con-
versation with this correspond
ent, to "our so-called independ-
ence."
1t is not that the people are
anti-American. You encounter
little of the "Yankee-Go-H Home
sentiment that so frequently bobs
up in Europe. 1t is simply that
the average japanese feels the
time has come for true indie
pendence.
That is precisely what Ameri.
can policy-makerS want fol
Japan.
| Reached Turning Point.
So now the two nations have
reached turning point. Now
in the full sense of the word, the
struggle for Japan is beginning
| The questions inherent in this
are these: Can Japan defend
herself? Has she the economic
strength-and more important
the will-to rearm? Will she
remain aligned with the Western
democracieS? Or will she drift
into a lotus-eating dream of neu-
trality? Would she lemain SC
weak as to invite a Communist
assault, from within or without?
In short. independence-yes
But how about the Responsible
ties of independence?
The present government is
pro-American. If it were to re-
main indefinitely. there would be
little doubt about these issues
Conclusions of Tour.
But among the people, it is a
different story. For several
weeks, this correspondent has
been travelling up and down
Japan, talking to people, stu
dents. working men. industrial
lists, professors, merchants, farm
ers, newspapermen. These are
some conclusions
/. The average japanese is
badly informed about the basic
issues of the cold war. There is
high degree of naivete about
the Communists, and especially
about Red China.
2. There is no apparent fear
of an armed attack by either
China or Russia.
3. Hence, an overwhelming
majority opposes rearming. A
government official estimated il
will take two to five years be-
fore public opinion accepts the
proposition.
4. A strong body of opinion
favors restoring some form OF
relations with China. In the
maximum, this calls for full dip
lomatic recognition; in the min
imum, re established trade
Japanese businessmen who have
looked over the prospects, how
ever, are not greatly interested
as a Whole.)
S. There is great disagreement
over the size of Japan's own Sc
curity forces-and some feeling
that none at all are needed.
6. Yet there also is disagree
ment about when and how
American forces should be with
drawn from Japan. The mer.
chant likes the CT payroll. The
japanese civilian likes his jot
at the American installations
The farmer. however, feels thai
a good deal of arabic land il
taken up by the bases. Few
Hpeople seem to worry about being
defenSeless when the troops are
gone.
7. Leftist strength appears tt
be growing rapidly. If hard time:
come-and they now are ex'
pected-people believe it will b.
the extreme left that benefit.
from the discomfort.
g. Economically, the day o.
reckoning is fast approaching
and American Mutual Security
Administration (MSA) funds
will not help much. Japan''
import export position is bad
Her dollar reserves, piled up dur.
ing the Korean war, are goine
fast. Time is running out on this
front.
How One Family Does.
Thus, the big picture. Let!
focus down, now, to a typica
Japanese family at this turning.
point stage.
Kanzo Sekiguchi, 81, is fore
man of the composing room il
a large newspaper in Sendai
Northern Japan. He has WORKED
here AZ years, having left schoo
to help support his parents wher
he was IL. He bolstered his edu'
cation afterward at night school
/ He has a wife, three daughter
and a son. The elder daughter!
work and contribute to the fam.
lily budget. The son is in col
lege, studying economics The
youngest girl is in high school.
They live in a four-room house
which has lights. but no gas OF
running water. Water is drawn
from a well. The house is heated
with charcoal braziers.
Mr. Sekiguchi's salary is equal
to about $84 a month. Income
taxes take 10 per cent of it. He
has no savings account in the
bank, but over the years he has
been able to acquire / $40 shares
of stock in the newspaper, with