JAPAN: Election

Ever since Japan’s Army pushed out pacific little Premier Koki Hirota four months ago and installed a “gold braid” Cabinet of generals and admirals, swashbuckling new Premier General Senjuro Hayashi has been twirling his handlebar mustaches menacingly at Japan’s civilian Diet. The Diet’s Minseito (majority) and Seiyukai (minority) parties were induced to swallow the largest budget in impoverished Japan’s history, $802,400,000, of which more than one-half is earmarked for the Army & Navy. Last month Swashbuckler Hayashi’s mustaches stiffened when the Diet finally turned stubborn, let it be known it would not pass one of Hayashi’s pet measures, a law “for preservation of military secrets” which would facilitate the quiet disposal of persons inimical to the Government. Promptly Premier Hayashi got Emperor Hirohito to dissolve the Diet, order new elections April 30.

For weeks Hayashi and his gold braids have been loudly proclaiming that the Minseito and Seiyukai would get a proper trimming in these elections from the militant little Showakai, Kokumin-domei. and Tohokai parties. Hence it was a considerable surprise last week when Japan went to the polls, gave Premier Hayashi a most resounding electoral slap. Of the 466 Diet seats, more than 400 went to avowed opposition parties, with the moderate Minseito actually losing ground to the rabidly anti-Hayashi Social Mass Party. So bucked up were civilian politicians that they demanded that the Cabinet resign at once, even the Tohokai chiming in.

After a consultation with his colleagues, amazingly Premier Hayashi indicated that he would sit tight no matter what Japan’s voters thought. With the fighting forces, if not the voters, behind him, this sabre-rattler bellowed: “I hope the new members of the Diet will sacrifice personal interests and serve the higher interests of the nation, thus promoting constitutional politics and fulfilling the great task of assisting the Emperor during the present emergency period.”