Book Review: Japan's War Economy
| Published date | 01 July 1946 |
| Date | 01 July 1946 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070204600100312 |
| Author | K. C. Woodsworth |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book
Reviews
had been
arrested
during
the
past
seventeen
years
by
the
"Thought
Police."
Whatever
the
exact
figures
may
be,
they
are
enough
to
justify
the
two
authors
in
their
common
contention
that
they
should
remove
"tlhe
popular
misconception
that
there
are
no
liberals
among
the
Japanese."
Ottawa,
May
1946.
George
S.
Patterson
JAPAN'S
WAR
ECONOMY.
By
T.
A.
Bisson.
1945.
(New
York,
Toronto:
Macmillan
for
Institute
of
Pacific
Relations,
International
Secretariat.
267pp.
$3.50
U.S.)
The
central
theme
throughout
this
intriguing study
may
be
expressed
in
the
words
of
the
author: "the
epitome
of
modem
Japan
is
not
the
'militarist',
but
the
Zaibatsu." The
title
of
the
book
is
somewhat
mis-
leading
in
the
sense
that
it
is
not
intended
to
be
a
comprehensive
study
of
the
economy
of
Japan
in
all
its
phases.
It
is
an
extremely. thorough
study
of
the
actual
stages
of
economic
organization
and
reorganization
undertaken
by
the
governing oligarchy
to
meet
the
wax and
wane
of
Japan's
fortunes
in
the
war. At
every
stage,
the
author
is
at
pains
to
emphasize
his
central
thesis
that
it
was
the
Zaibatsu,
the
great
financial-
industrial-commercial
monopolies,
not
the
"militarists,"
that
determined
the
destinies
of
the
Japanese
state.
The
book
follows
historically
from
the
period
1939-1941,
the
measures
taken
by
the
Zaibatsu,
through
their
commanding position
in
the
economic
life of
the
country
and
their
power
in
the
organs
of
government,
to
mobilize
the full
resources
of
the
nation
to
win
the
war,
and
at
the
same
time,
to
ensure
their
own
continued
dominance
in
all
phases
of
national
life. The
book
is
carefully
documented
throughout,
with
original
material
which
has probably
been
made public
for
the
first
time.
So
emphatic
is
the
author
on
his
main
point
concerning
the
dominance
of
the
Zaibatsu-with
which
one
fully
concurs-that
he has
not
attempted
to
examine
in
detail
other
vital
elements.
It
might
be
said by
way
of
criticism
that
he
has,
perhaps
deliberately,
over-emphasized
the
over-
riding power
of
the
Zaibatsu
and
does
not
sufficiently
take
into
account
the
political
strength
of
the
militarists.
The
reader
is
left,
too,
with
the
wish
that
there
had
been room
for
some
discussion
of
such questions
as
raw material
supply,
communications,
and above
all,
labour.
In
his
preface,
the
author
is
careful
to
note
that
the "militarists" and
the
Zaibatsu are
"complementary,
not
mutually
exclusive. If
the
latter
is
permitted
to
control
the restoration
.of
Japan's
economy, his
buddy,
the
'militarist,'
will
be
found
trotting
at
his
heels
again
when
the
job
is
finished."
In view
of
the results
of
the
recent Japanese
elections,
there
is
a
grim
warning
in
Bisson's
observation:
"To
look
for
some
particular
group
within the
oligarchy which
will
rule
Japan
for
our benefit
in
a
'peaceful'
and
'democratic'
manner
is
to
chase a
will-o'-the-wisp."
It
raises
the
question again
whether
all
the
reforms
announced
by
the
Supreme
Commander
have
been
sufficient
to
ensure
the
total destruction
of
the
oligarchy,
whose
r6le
Bisson
so
clearly
defines.
Toronto,
May
1946.
K.
C.
Woodsworth.
273
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