The statement issued by the Konoye Government on Thursday. afternoon envisaging! the complete reorganization of Japan and her Empire, the mobilization of the whole re-' sources and powers of her people for national defence, and the establishment of a new order in' East Asia, which "must be] made self-sufficient for a' larger life devoted to the State," docs not in fact include very much which' can be considered new. Indeed similar statements have been issued on the: formation of practically every government, since the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese hostilities. Tt has, however, much more significance than any previous declaration of the same kind, because of the changed conditions in which it has been made. Thus! the movement. to "establish one party in Japan, the eradication of the Last vestiges of parliamentarianism, and the establishment of the military extremists firmly in the saddle suggests that Prince Konoye may shortly be a stronger position to si tive to reach his objectives than were any of his predecessors, for, obviously, what it is sought to create is 8 {olalitarian state modelled along the lines of Moly and Germany, with this' difference that whereas the armies in those two coun-ries are subservient to the government, in the case of Japan the military will completely dominate it, It looks as though, at any rate for the moment, the moderates in Japan have definitely been pushed into the background, and that for the future a more forceful policy at home and abroad is to be anticipated. As was only to be expected Prince Konoye's statement places the settlement of the China Affair in the forefront of immediate objectives. How that is to be effected is not explained, and it is probable that at the moment the new Cabinet has no very differ= ent ideas than those held by the one which it succeeds, Up to the present no great head~ way has been made towards the accomplish ment of this aim, and so long as the Chinese National Government is determined to resist there does not appear to be any great like-hood of progress being made. The rest of the points made in the declaration are such as could be made by any leader contemplat~ ing u radical change in the government of any'eountry, and for the main, apart from the idea of the new order in' Asia cover purely domestic questions.
It is, however, necessary to read the de~ claration in the light of utterances of other Japanese leaders such as that of Mr. Yosuke Matsuoka, the new Foreign Minister, when it is apparent that Prince Konoye's statement not quite the innocuous document it would appear to be when taken alone. Mr. Mat~ suoka is reported by the "Hochi Shimbun'
favouring the rapid propulsion of Japan's southward policy, and the establishment of a South Seas Development Company, with a Semi-governmental status and activities similar to those of the South Manchuria Rail way. If that policy is adopted it will mean that' Japan has decided to stake everything upon' a victory for the Axis Powers, and should she do that there is a grave danger that Japan will have made the greatest mis~ take of her history. The war in Europe is even now only in its earliest stages. That is now admitted at least by Italian writers, who, it was pointed out yesterday, fully realize that the possibilities of a quick decision have greatly diminished, and that the Axis Powers will have to settle down to a war of attrition which in its turn will have to bbe successful before there can be any very, rear hope of a victorious onslaught on the British Isles. The proposed push to the South Seas can only be successful should the Axis Powers win, in Europe. Tt has already been shown that world opinion to a very. Jarge extent is convinced that no such thing) will occur, and it is the British intention to continue the struggle until the totalitarian slates have been defeated. Any step sich as it is indicated Mr. Matsuoka contemplates, would inevitably lead to a breach of the under~ standing arrived at after the fall of Holland) regarding the maintenance of the status quo of the Netherlands East Indies, and with that would come a general worsening of the' situation in the Far East, and the possible involvement of Great Britain and the United States who have also given similar guarantees. Thus it is reported from Wash~ ington that the statements issued in Tokyo fare expected to widen the already great rift in Japanese-American relations. How far those relations will deteriorate depends entirely upon the extent to which Japan me tensifies her efforts to full her programme.
Where the mistake appears to be made in Tokyo is in thinking that, because Great Britain has her hands full for the moment in Europe, and because of the reluctance of the United States to become embroiled in a war, neither of those nations have any means with Which to reply to Japanese actions. That is! a wholly inaccurate misconception of the: situation, for badly as Japan's own actions] in China have damaged her economic struc-ure, it is still possible for the (we great democracies 10 reduce what remains of it to complete ruin. 'The establishment of a Japanese-dominated yen bloc in the Far East jg not the real answer to the problems which fare presenting themselves. It is only by re~ turn' to the widest foreign trading, and the building up of her sadly-depleted export Business that Japan can hope to repair the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.