Expressing their pleasure over the news of the Japanese occupation of Kiukiang on Tuesday, former Japanese residents of the Yangtze port who took refuge in Shanghai already are preparing to return to their old homes, the "Nippo" said yesterday.
"At one time there were about 130 Japanese in Kiukiang but with the approach of war clouds over the Yangtze they evacuated the city. Forty-eight Japanese remained there until the last minute before evacuat~ ing.
"Oh this last group some have stayed in Shanghai during the course of hostilities, while others now are in other Central China cities awaiting the time when ij will be possible for them to return.
One of the evacuees, Mr. Hisajiro Masuda, 72, who resided in Kiukiang 30 years, longer than any other Japanese, told newsmen yesterday that he ' was ready to go back. He, is residing in the home of a friend on Haining Road.
Recalling his $0 years' residence in Kiukiang, Mr. Masuda said the city is a good place to live in, It is a distributing centre for products from the interior, he said.
"Even in the summer the temperature seldom goes over 83 degrees Fahrenheit," he claimed.
"The number of Japanese there was small but we were united in carrying on our business. This time a large number of Japanese must to Kiukiang and start rehabilitation work."
Anticipating the capture of Kiukiang, two Japanese policemen, Police Sergeant Kojiro Matsumura and Constable Akira Kiyota, who were members of the Kiukiang consular police force, already have gone
other member of the force, to Nanking, the "Nippo" said. stable Biko Suzuki, is in Shanghai.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.