Jan, 17.
Within twenty-four hours, Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai, the new Japanese Prime Minister, succeeded in forming his Cabinet, and there is every sign apparent that the new ministry will commence its labours in exceptionally favourable atmosphere. Admiral Yonai is a popular figure, a man who as Minister for the Navy proved himself most able, and one who commands the confidence of the Diet. In view of Prince will be general agreement upon, foreign policy, in which no very great departure from precedent is to be expected, save perhaps in modifications calculated to bring about an improvement in the relationships between Japan and those other nations with which there are so many outstanding questions to settle. The inclusion of Mr. Hachiro Arita as Foreign Minister supports the view that Admiral Yonai's policy will be directed towards a betterment of Japan's international position.
The result of all that has happened during the past two-and-a-half years has left Japan in almost complete isolation. The German betrayal of the Anti-Comintern Pact practically completed it, and, should the new Cabinet decide after all that old friends are the best, it may very well be that without too great a reorientation of policy Japan's position vis-a-vis of those great Powers deeply interested in China may undergo a complete and gratifying change. It needs to be emphasized that to reach agreement with third-party Powers involves no radical change from policy as preceding Governments have enunciated it since the outbreak of the China Incident, for all that is needed is that the assurances which have repeatedly been given that third-party Powers' interests and rights would be respected should be implemented in deed, Under the Hiranuma Cabinet there was an attempt made to secure Some agreement. That failed as the Ministry went out of power. General Abe sought to im~ prove matters during his short regime. That he did not succeed is in all probability no fault of his, but rather because of the shortness of his term of office which was hardly long enough to be productive of results. Admiral Yonai enters office faced with the problem of the deterioration of relations between Japan and the United States and the necessity of coming to a better understanding than at present exists between his country and Great Britain and France. The obstacles }to an all-round betterment are not insuperable, and a Cabinet, endowed with the authority that participation in it of all important [parties would give it, should undoubtedly be able to make progress where other administrations found it well nigh impossible. From that point of view the personnel of.the new Cabinet should prove a happy augury for the future, though it has alway to be borne in mind that unless Japan makes definite Progress in the improvement of her rela~ tions with the other Powers, the position instead of merely remaining stationary must inevitably become worse.
But the foreign policy is not the only problem which the new Cabinet has to face. The past two-and-a-half years have thrown an enormous burden upon the Japanese people. The heavy cost of the campaigns in China has created demands upon the economy of Japan which were already [serious enough when the outbreak of war in Europe added considerably to them. In addition to definite shortages, due to natural causes, there is the ever-present threat of inflation, and one of the most difficult prob-Jems which Mr. Yukio Sakurauchi will have to face is how to place Japan's economy on a surer basis than it is now, and protect the nation as far as possible from the bad effect of further burdens which may have to be assumed before the China Incident is dis-
Posed of. The mobilization of national resources for the prosecution of the struggle in China has had a deep and, it may be, lasting effect upon the economic structure it. {of the country. There is at present no pros~ pect of the early termination of the trouble, and the recent admission that Japan may have to continue the struggle for some years to come, means in fact the realization that the establishment of a new government in occupied China does not necessarily imply that Japan's activities on the Continent will automatically come to an end. In the light of all this it was not astonishing that most Japanese leaders were reluctant to assume the task of forming a Cabinet. That Admiral Yonai was finally selected and succeeded in completing his Cabinet in so short a while Indicates not only the confidence of the Throne in him, but also of those who have consented to be his colleagues. "Based on what amounts to all-round support the Cabinet is broad in its representation, and Here-Belisha was called upon to resign was not stated, and Parliament and the world at large are left almost as completely in the dark as they were before the statements were made, Mr. Here-Belisha devoted much of his time toward justification of his policy as Secretary for War, and emphasized that, during the two-and-a-half years that he had been in ofice, he had directed his attention to the reorganization and development of the Army, which had been carried out with a degree" of agreement that offered a remarkable contrast to the stormy history of most reforms. 'There can be little doubt that in his endeavour to bring the Army completely up-to-date, Mr. " Here-Belisha did things' which were bound to be resented in some quarters, and though, whatever decisions were made were reached by the Cabinet as a whole, he could not escape the responsibility in the eyes of many for initiating the reforms with which he has been credited. It does not much matter what may be the immediate judgment upon the late Secretary for War's tenure of office. History will undoubtedly make it plain that during a time of unstable peace the great change from voluntary recruitment to compulsion was made without undue disturbance of the life of the country, and that, when war was forced upon it, the Army was in much better position to full its functions than it had ever been before. That Mr.
Here-Belisha must have the credit for being the driving force behind those important changes is clear, and the sensation which has been created by his resignation is to a very great extent caused by the fear that there will be some going back on the policy which he initiated. "That may be an unreasonable one, but general Press comment on the whole' affair suggested that it is nevertheless real indeed.
If in the course of his speech Mr, Hore~ Belisha gave any indication of the possible reason for the resignation, it is probably to be found in the sting contained in the last sentence of his speech I declined the post in the Board of Trade because T could not feel an assurance that the consideration which persuaded the Prime Minister to make the change would allow of energetic discharge in the national. interest of another office.
There, if anything, is an indication that it was the forceful and energetic manner in which he went about the discharge of his duties as Secretary for War which proved an embarrassment to the Prime Minister, matter, they have both made it quite clear that the Cabinet was hardly large enough to accommodate both of them. Either the Prime Minister or his Secretary of War had to go, and, as there was no reason why in the circumstances it should have been the former, it had to be Mr. Here-Belisha, This temporary reverse is not so serious to him as it would be if he were an older man. His excellent qualifications are fully recognized fon both sides of the House and in Great Britain, and it may very well be that in the not {oo distant future he will again be able to devote his great moral courage and personal energy to the service of the Empire, Of Mr, Chamberlain it may be said that the straightforward manner in which he spoke to the House of Commons, when refusing to all the information desired, can only increase the confidence which is felt in him,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.