There are one oF two sidelights to be added to this general picture of the extremely interesting, extremely disturbed, vitally important political situation in the Empire of Japan to-day. Dr. Kisaburo Suzuki, pre~ sident of the Seiyukai, has virtually' been compelled to resign by his followers. He failed of re-election February 20, 1086, but was given a seat in the House' of Peers. He has! been an extremely ill man for several years, and he could not possibly Becept the Premiership if this chance should come the way of the Selyuteal. His resignation may split his. party into several dissentient factions In the quarrel over successon to the presidency, and this would be quite Gisastrous not only to the Seiyukai but to the cause of party government Japan.
'By exceptionally clever political manquvring, Mr. Chokicht Miyawakt of the Seiyukai managed to alienate the Japanese Navy from the side of the Army and place it on the side of the parties and the general public, During' interpellation, Navy Minister Yonai- admitted that there was no question of maintaining discipline in the Navy, but that it) was a purely Army altair.
The Army, of course, consistently maintains that it does not and never has interfered in politics; nobody be-Neves it. The Army maintains that} both the May 15, 1992, and the February 26, 1996," tragedies were breaches of discipline, but that they were really caused by corruption in political circles. Wen the characters of the martyred Mr. Ki Inukal, Viscount Makoto Saito and Mr. Kore-Kiyo Tokahasht are recalled, again nobody believes such a bald assertion.
'The Army maintains, too, that it believes in the "Constitutional Government peculiar to Japan." That is 2 phrase' on everyone's lips at the moment and no one knows just what it means. Certainly it does not mean the same thing to the Army as to the political parties and the people at large.
So tense and so fraught with possibilities of all sorts is the political situation in Japan to-day that it is difficult to tell what even another 24 hours will bring. Certainly the out Week at the moment this is written, {s that the parties will show no mercy fu their battle to deprive the Japa-
Blection, through a gradual merging and mutual compromise or by still some other method Is the guess of any who cares to make it.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.