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55. On the 22nd February the Japanese Ambassador in Moscow, Mr. Togo, had a stormy meeting with Litvinov at which both upheld with some heat their respective standpoints.
56. It is difficult to believe that either side wants war. Rumours of impending hostilities are considerably promoted, however, by the preparations which are obviously being made by both sides to meet any possible emergency.
-Siam.
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57. The visit of Sir Shenton Thomas, Governor of the Federated Malay States. to Siam received a certain amount of notice in the Japanese press. The visit, which was the first official visit for six years, was regarded as an overture to Siam." There were rumours, too, that Britain might grant a defence loan to Siam.
The Diet Session.
HOME AFFAIRS.
58. Proceedings in the Diet have up to the present been very uneventful, as is, indeed, to be expected in the absence of an Opposition. National unity" has been interpreted by the political parties as implying blind acquiescence in the major policies of the Government and, in these circumstances, the debates have been merely formal. The Diet has failed to obtain any crystallisation of Japanese policy in China, and this fact is being seized upon for criticism by the press and the reviews.
59. The fact that the new Government took office only two weeks before the Diet was reconvened has been responsible for much delay in the presentation of legislation. The Lower House has on several occasions found itself with nothing to do, and actually adjourned for a whole day to pay a visit of inspection at an aircraft factory. There will thus inevitably be a large accumulation of Bills left over for the closing days of the session. on which only the most perfunctory procedure will be taken.
Military Policy in China.
60. Perhaps the most significant event of the session to date has been a categorical refutation by the Minister of War of the impression, which had grown in the minds of the Japanese public since Prince Konoye's statement of the 22nd December and the subsequent telegram of Wang Ching-wei, that the Japanese forces were eventually to be withdrawn from Central and South China and concentrated in special areas in the north. General Itagaki declared that rumours to this effect were entirely without foundation, and that, on the contrary, preparations were already being taken in hand for the maintenance of Japanese garrisons in China over a long period, including the erection of semi-permanent barracks.
Prince Konoye.
61. The position of Prince Konoye as Minister without Portfolio continues to be very anomalous. He has appeared in the Diet on only one occasion, and then only in response to a demand from a Seiyukai leader that he should explain the reasons for the resignation of his Government. Nor does the prince ever attend the meetings of the Cabinet. There is no doubt that Prince Konoye is anxious to sever his connexions with the present Cabinet, but the Prime Minister persists in the view that the reasons for his inclusion in the Government have not yet disappeared. Prince Konove's followers hold that the prince will return to office as Prime Minister in the comparatively near future.
The Budget.
62. The main budget, which is balanced at approximately 3.893 million ven, was approved without amendment by the House of Representatives on the 13th February and sent to the House of Peers. The Emergency War Expenditure Supplementary budget and two further important supplementary budgets remain to be considered, and these will bring the total expenditure to more than 10.000 million yen as compared with the 8,635 million yen voted for the current fiscal year.
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63. The records of the debates in the budget committees have repeatedly been suspended and the proceedings conducted in secret. Mr. Juji Kasai, an independent member of the Lower House, states that he took advantage of one of these interludes to deliver an attack against the pro-German proclivities of the Government.
National Spiritual Mobilisation.
64. The National Spiritual Mobilisation campaign, which has hitherto been left to unofficial enterprise and which has not produced satisfactory results, is to be placed in charge of a new commission directly under the Cabinet. It is understood that General Araki, the Minister of Education, is to be chairman of the commission, but the Prime Minister is experiencing great difficulty in finding anybody to serve as Director-General. An appropriation of 1 million yen is included in a supplementary budget for the expenses of the commission.
Projected New Party.
65. The attempt to form a merger of the Social Mass party and the Tohokai (reference paragraph 30 of Diary No. 1) came ignominiously to grief on the 22nd February owing to internal dissensions between the two groups and to differences of opinion over the question of leadership of the new party.
Control of Rice.
66.
A meeting attended by 3.000 representatives of rice-marketing organisa- tions from all over the country, adopted unanimously a resolution protesting against a Bill to place the distribution of rice under the control of a semi-official company, which the Government propose to introduce during the current session of the Diet. The Government are, however, determined to carry through this measure, which is expected to prove to be the most controversial issue during the session.
Anti-Comintern Congress.
67. According to the press, an association known as the Italo-German- Japanese Friendship Society is to sponsor an Asiatic anti-Comintern Congress composed of representatives of Japan, Manchuria, China, Siam, the Philippines. India, Burma and the Netherlands East Indies during the coming summer. representative of the Italian Embassy is reported to have attended a recent meeting of the organising committee.
South Seas Mandated Islands.
68. In reply to a question in the Diet, a spokesman for the Government stated that Japan would continue to submit reports on the administration of the South Seas Mandated Islands in spite of the severance of all connexion with the League of Nations.
Submarine Disaster.
69. Eighty-one lives are believed to have been lost when a submarine was sunk as the result of a collision during exercises off the coast of Shikoku on the 2nd February. Salvage operations were rendered impossible owing to great depth of water and strong currents.
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