May 28.
The long expected Japanese Cabinet changes have at last come about, and follow the lines it was generally believed they would, As a result the Japanese military and naval services are more firmly in control than they have ever been, while the civilian members of the Cabinet have been reduced in numbers. Probably the most surprising appointment is that of General Kazushige Ugaki to the Gaimusho. A remarkably brilliant man be-Tonging to the conservative elements in the Army, General Ugaki fell into its disfavour by reason of his responsibility for the reduetion of the number of Army divisions, and when, last year, he was invited to form a Cabinet, he met with a rebuff at the hands of the Army heads, and, though he negotiated for four days, he was unable to come to any sort of agreement which would permit him to form a Government. That he should now be included in a Cabinet in which the Army and Navy have all the key positions, and that he should be appointed to the Foreign Office must mean that for some reason or other he has been restored to favour and the con~ fidence of those who previously were bitterly opposed to him, General Araki's appointment has about it considerable significance, for it is unusual to find a military man in-charge a nation's education, and it can only be assumed that he has been placed in charge of that department for the purpose of mould Jing Japanese education in favour of energetic continuation of the war, and probably what is of more importance, to make sure that! €ducational developments shall not follow {ines of too liberal thought, which has beer! found to be the case in other countries. The whole result may not be the Military Dictator Ship which apparently some London papers believe it to. be, though it most certainly: means that the Army and the Navy will now have complete control of governmental activities, and may be expected to bend the same to their way of thinking, rather than attempt to bring about a compromise between civilian and service policies.
The inclusion of Mr, Ikeda, formerly the guiding genius of the vast Mitsui ent amounts to a confession of the need for the! reorganization of Japanese economic institutions, obviously with view to bringing the activities of the latter more completely into line with the military and naval requirements of the nation, and the policy of more energetically prosecuting the campaign in China, Since the fall of Hsuchowfu the infidential Japanese newspapers have been clamouring for a speedy advance on Hankow, the occupation of which, they appear to be convinced, will bring about the collapse of the Chinese Government, and, consequently, the end of these expensive hostilities. Thera are even suggestions that the capture of Canton may be included in the future develop ment of warfare, and it is apparent that, if 50 grandiose a scheme is embarked upon, th> use of further large Japanese forces would tend to show that the new Japanese Cabinet ho longer regards Russia as a serious factor in Far Eastern polities. That argument has to be modified to the extent that the Japanese General Staff may believe they have sufficient margin of strength to push the war to a Swift conclusion without necessarily weaken ing their. ability to deal.with any Russian menace which may arise. That belief may' hot be based so much upon knowledge of the petual strength Russia may be able to put into the field as upon whatever undisclosed possibilities there may even yet be in the im-Dlieations of the Anti-Komintern Pact. Be {hat as it may, one fact emerges from the changes which have now been made, and the Agitation which has been carried on for some months for such a development. Domei states that "such a reorganization, the press believed, would enhance Japan's capacity for weather~ ing the current crisis without serious after effects," 'The hostilities have already cost Japan' deal of money, Whether they are brought to a swift conclusion by the employ~ ment of larger forces, or allowed to drag on with those at present in the field, it is plain} That much-more will have to be spent before the Japanese succeed in bringing this campaign to the victorious conclusion which the people of Japan expect.
The subordination of a large number of small industries to the major task of pro-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.