Consequently it is my belief that in five years or so Japan will enter a golden age and become so strong as to be able to cope with whatever unexpected situatii arise, without any fear. Naturally we must not be conservative but positive in letting the world know the real economic strength and the strong points of our country. Our people must redouble their efforts in this direction, so that the world will be informed of what we are able to do.
The ignorance about Japan, throughout the world, is aston ing Recently I have talked with foreign visitors to Japan, some of whom came here with the idea that all our able-bodied men had been sent to the front, leaving at home only women, children, and aged people, while others had imagined that the Japanese are suffering from a serious shortage of food.
Great was their amazement, on arriving, to find the country still filled with strong young men engaged in peaceful occupations, and a great abundance of all sorts of food and drink, Others had heard that we have mo gasolene, and therefore cannot use any motor cars, so they came prepared to walk, carrying their own baggage. They were surprised enough to find plenty of taxis at the piers and rushing about in the streets of the cities, contrary to the false reports spread abroad.
Even, I hear, one American visitor who stayed for a few days at the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, appears to have been told that owing to the control of the use of gasolene in Japan, the number of taxis available was not so great as formerly. On returning to America he exaggerated this into the ridiculous story that Japan has no more gasolene, and that there is not a single taxi left in operation, even for hotel visitors.
Some foreigners seem to think that no money can be made available to pay for imports of gasolene and iron, unless the importers make 100 calls at the Finance Ministry to get governmental permits, that this is due to lack of exchange funds in the Treasury, and that these things prove the finzneial straits in which Japan finds herself, Others refer to the Finance istry's announcement that savings last year amounted to Y.7,300.000,000 end that the estimated goal of savings for this year has been set at Y.10,000,. 000,000, but express the opinion that these figures are fabrications, These seem to be typical superficial views taken by casual foreign visitors of the situation in Japan, Per. haps it is not unnatural, if their ears have been filled with false propaganda emanating from Chinese sources, for them to think they have made such observations of Japanese conditions.
Certainly it is true that taxis are not so abundantly convenient as in peace-time, but to say that Japan has no gasolene is a silly falsehood. Also it is true that owing to the Finance Ministry's careful control of foreign exchange, more time is needed for going through the procedure of obtaining the necessary exchange permits than formerly, but this does not mean that Japan has no hard cash, But some foreigners, by their superficial observations, are too ready to assert that they have discovered that Japan is financially weak, Obviously, these false tales are responsible for the spread of rumours, that Japan may collapse financially.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.