July 8 the declarations of Baron Hiranuma, Japanese Prime Minister, in an interview on the eve of the second anniversary of the outbreak of Sino-Japanese hostilities, are amongst the most important which have been mode for a long time past. The account which Domei carries, and which appears elsewhere in this issue, starts off with reference to the Tientsin question, and the negotiations which are shortly to start in Tokyo, and in what the Prime Minister has to say upon this subject there is to be found a minatory tone. The conversations may "have to be cut short" unless Great Britain "appreciates the real in~ tentions of Japan." There again peeps out the idle fixe that Great Britain has to approach these negotiations in the role of a Suppliant, 'That, it should be obvious, is very far from what the British Government has in mind, Unfortunately the British do fully appreciate what Japan's intentions in China are; they have done so for many years. past, and' the various declarations which Japanese statesmen have made from time to time permit of there being no misconception of Japan's intentions. It is that "apprecia tion" which stimulates what Baron Hiranuma and his colleagues consider to be "insincere behaviour," for, realizing only too well that the policy of the Japanese is the ultimate exclusion of all foreigners from China, Great Britain naturally opposes a process " which would mean the sacrifice of interests which can only be represented in terms of hundreds of millions of pounds. It is apparent, therefore, that if the Japanese insist upon British recognition and acceptance of a policy which envisages their total eradication from China as preliminary to the conduct of negotiations for the adjustment of the Tientsin issue, those negotiations are likely to be stillborn, for Great Britain does not enter into these conversations cap-in-hand, but with the Knowledge of the possession of powerful weapons such as the strong are always reluctant to put into operation. It is to be hoped that when the day comes for the commencement of these talks a more moderate attitude will have been adopted by the Japanese, Baron Hiranuma's insistence upon the re~ cognition of a new order in East Asia is a matter which concerns not only Great Britain hut every other nation having interests in this part of the world. - That new order was not recognized when the first instalment was set, up in the subjugation of Manchuria. It is not now, except by certain nations which have recognized Manchoukuo as a quid pro quo for Japan's entrance into the Anti-Comintern Pact, and, if Japan is unable to Secure recognition of the new order in Manchoukuo, how cin she expect to secure it for a similar state of affairs in China where the interests of third party neutrals have been more seriously damaged than ever they were the north? The statement that immediate recognition would be extended by Japan to new Central China regime foreshadows the erection of a new government probably to replace that at Nanking, which has not been operating with any conspicuous success, chiefly because the personalities comprising it have not been strong enough to sway the masees to their way of thinking, and there seems reason for believing that the Japanese contemplate the appointment of some such notability as Wang Ching-wei as its head. Such a step would not be unexpected. The declaration that the new regime would be based upon the principles of decentralization Government and ce-operation amongst its component parts, giving local self-government wide powers, suggests that the ultimate Japanese policy towards the new China which they are trying to create will be one Of divide et impera, for doubt is expressed whether the new system would even assume the federal characteristics of the United States of America or of pre-war Germany.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.