Tokyo, Nov. 28. Santa Claus and his Christmas presents will skip Japan this year, as the Tokyo Department Store Association have gone on voluntary record to prevent their customers from buying Holiday gifts.
This drastic decision to sacrifice the greatest period of revenue of the year has been conveyed to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in the desire to comply with the national thrift promotion campaign.
Nine other self-imposed measures adopted by the Association include the prohibition of lottery prizes in year-end sales; limit newspaper advertising to a maximum of a quarter-page; outlaw glaring electric signs, streamers, and balloons, signboards along railway lines, musical bands and the use of the word, "gift" in advertisements.
Special sales will be allowed and stores will be permitted to remain open an hour longer, but the customers will not be induced to spend their money for gifts, it was agreed.—Domei.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.