To this end a planned economy is to be undertaken, and both private capital and the political parties are ready to tread this path just so long these demands for funds do not reach a point which the parties be-Yieve will bring an inflation of the currency so dangerous that it will imperil" the well-being and live hood of the Japanese people and might even tead to national bankrupted. If, in their eyes, the next Uiseal Budget threatens to do this they will not hesitate to withdraw their support of the Konoye Government and to seek by every means within their power to overthrow it, They are credited with having _already wrecked two Governments—that_ of Mr, Koki Hirota and that of Gen. Senjuro Hayashi—since the dawn of the. present year. Until the Budget Is formulated and presented to the regular session of the Diet, which convenes in mid-winter, this question will not arise, so that the Government still hag a "number of months in which to perfect its plans and put them' into operation. No serious trouble is expected during the brief two weeks' extraordinary session 'The Central Economic Council, the membership of which has just, been appointed, is given the task of] working out a unified economic policy over a period of years, a policy embracing not only Japan' and its colonies but the Empire of Manchou-Kuo as well. Henceforth Japan Manchoukuo {s to be considered by the Tokyo Government as a single economic unit, just as it is already} considered a military unit and to a very great degree political entity well, Eighteen regular and sixteen special members inlake up—this Central Economic Council. The special members are all Government oMelals, being the Vice-Ministers of the Government departments _most directly concerned, several important] but second-line members of the!
Tokyo regime, and a representative of the colonial governments of Korea and Formosa, The sixteen regular members are financiers and indus~ trialists, and the list of those appoint. ed to this Council shows some of the blest of Japan's men of business and nance among them, The Price Policy Commission was organized earlier in the current ye when commodity prices in this coun-fry began to rise at such a rapid rate as to cause widespread discontent and murmurings against the Government (at that time Mr. Hirota was still in power), and to endanger the economic well-being of the masses. It was formed in the hope that it would be able to curb this quick upward price tendency. Prices' are still going up in Japan, but at a greatly reduced pace since about mid-April. Whether the Price Policy Commission is responsible for this slackening is most doubtful, When the Commission's personnel} was announced grave objections arose on all hands, "It was pointed out {iat the consumer, the man in whose interests the whole scheme had been brought into existence, lacked adequate representation, and that it was impossible to expect a wealthy banker to protect the interests of the day labourer and the peasant. Prince Konoye has largely silenced this criticism by agreeing with it and acting accordingly. He has added such representatives to the Commission's personnel, and has even taken the unprecedented step of appointing thereto the head of the protetariat-Labourite political party, the Shakhai Taishuto, Mr, Isoo Abe.
Mr, Abe hesitated to accept, principally because he felt that he was not qualified for the work, but finally consented, It is safe to assert that this appointment has gone further toward popularizing the present Prince-Premier with the general masses than avy other which he falght have taken, and has added greatly to the belief in his fairness and disinterested service for the!
State. This disinterestedness is not merely lack of self-serving on his part, but a refusal to become the tool of any one of the several groups in Japan that are almost constantly Striving for power under the Throne] but which are, at least temporarily,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.