The Emperor will appear in person at the Diet Building to read the rescript officially convening the body. The Diet will then adjourn, either late tomorrow or Sunday, for the New Year holidays and will meet again late next month when it will begin its real work, Despite a heritage of bitter verbal battles and even an occasional fist-fight, the present session is not likely to see many acrimonious debates. Japanese politics have been channelled into nationalistic lines since the China war and the too outspoken legislator is certain of finding himself in hot water. There is no organized opposition since the Social Mass Party turned away from its left-wing policies to following a semi-fascist course.
On the other hand the Japanese Diet is no rubber stamp German Reichstag or Russian Supreme Coun. cil In last year's session members were free to ask embarrassing ouestions and doubt the wisdom of certain Government-sponsored objectives. No criticism of military po! cies, however, was voiced and the fina] rollealls found near unanimity.
Budget will Pass There is no doubt, for example, that the budgets major provisions will pass overwhelmingly though minor opposition probably will be heard on less important points.
Present estimates place the 1940-41 budget at Yen 10,500,000,000 which is an all-time Japanese high. Later supplementary requisitions probably will advance it even more. Out of the total, close to 70 per cent. probably will ultimately be allotted to the army and navy. At present it is believed that Yen 5,300,000,000 will be used for direct prosecution of the war in China while almost half as much will be devoted to home defenses, experimentating mechanization and long-term construction.
The Finance Ministry for months has been busy whittling down estimated expenses submitted by ambitious bureaux and has succeeded in many cases. But military estimates do not receive as detailed scrutiny these days as, for example, those handed in by the Cimmuniaations Minister.
In the past four Diet ' sessions legislators have approved a total of Yen 11,990,000,000 to be spent directly for carrying on the China warfare, a sum already seven times as great as that spent during the 1905 Russo-Japanese War. And the War Minister, General Shunroku Hata, has pub-liely warned that the broader aspects of national defences must not be forgotten, declaring, "In order to be fully prepared against emergencies and to assure the tensibility of our position, we must make unstinted efforts to increase and improve armament"
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.