JAPAN'S SOCIAL PROBLEM

LABOUR troubles and social unrest are of very recent origin in Japan. Even so recently as ten years ago they were virtually unknown, but to-day they are the cause of considerable anxiety to the Japanese authorities.

For a proper understanding of the situation it is necessary first to examine the historical background, and to consider conditions as they were in Japan in the early days of the second half of last century.

Up to the time of Perry's arrival in the country in 1853, demanding the opening of commercial relations with the outside world, foreign trade, so far as Japan was concerned, was nonexistent. A handful of Dutch traders, it is true, was allowed, on sufferance, to live on a small island off the city of Nagasaki for trading purposes, but, apart from this, Japan had no trade, or even diplomatic, relations with any Western nation, and she lived a life of self-imposed seclusion.

The story of her phenomenally rapid rise to power amongst the nations of the world is too well known to bear repeating. It is merely mentioned here in so far as it has a bearing on her present internal situation.

One of the first steps taken by Japan on being forced out of her seclusion was to build up an army and a navy, as she realised that without these she might soon be driven to share the fate of so many of the other Eastern nations and be at the mercy of the more scientific peoples of the West. Arms and ammunition, ships and guns, clothing and equipment-all these necessary items for the use of her fighting forces were ordered in large quantities from abroad, as she did not then possess the means of making them for herself. It was, however, an expensive and uneconomical method of providing herself with these necessities, and it was not long before she came to realise that it would be much more advantageous and profitable in every way to set about taking steps to manufacture these articles for herself. Shipbuilding yards and factories were therefore constructed, and Japan started on the first stages of industrialism.

Years went by, and industrial life, which had been brought into existence largely as a result of the needs of her naval and military forces, expanded and came to take on a new aspect, destined to bring great changes in the whole life of the people. From being a race given over almost entirely to agricultural pursuits, Japan has become, in the short period of less than half a century, one of the greatest manufacturing countries in the world. Materially this is all to the good, but, as was inevitable, it has had a deteriorating effect on the moral of her people.

Fifty years ago feudalism had but recently been abolished. Up to that time commerce and trade had been regarded in a very poor light, and the merchant was at the bottom of the social scale. One reason for this was that money-making was looked upon with scorn, and honour was regarded as of infinitely greater value than riches. Thus, a penniless samurai was held in very much higher esteem than even the wealthiest merchant. This may have been overdone, but its effect on the moral code of the people was, as can well be imagined, good. Instead of scrambling after wealth and being discontented with their lot, the people were quite satisfied to work their hardest and their best for those whom they served without any thought of reward other than enough to keep them in safety and comfort. The employers of labour, on their part, though they were stern taskmasters at times, took a real interest in those who worked for them, and saw to it that they lacked nothing that they required. Knowing nothing of constitutional rights, the working classes were happy and content under this paternal despotism, much as were the majority of the slaves in the Southern States of America prior to the civil war of 1860.

Although feudalism was abolished in 1869 after the Restoration, the feudal spirit did not die with it. The labouring classes continued to work uncomplainingly, despite their low wages; but it was no longer for the lord of the fief to which they belonged. Instead, they had to slave and toil for the enrichment of the capitalists, who, in most cases, came from their own class, and had none of the paternal interest in their welfare as had their former

masters.

In the case of the commercial classes, the merchant used to bear much the same relationship to his employees as the daimyo did to his retainers and to the peasant farmers working on his estates. Young men serving apprenticeships with a merchant or artisan would be at his beck and call, and would be under his direct control. As a rule they would be provided with food and quarters in his house, and would be treated as though they were part of the family. Their financial remuneration was generally unfixed, and varied according to whether the times were good or bad. When a man came to be of marriageable age, his employer would find him a suitable wife, and might even provide the young couple with a separate house and money for its running expense ; but even when this was done, the new household would remain subject to the control of the employer.

Thus it came about that a strong feeling of loyalty generally was engendered between the merchant, or the artisan, and his employers, and gains and losses were shared proportionately.

In some of the country districts this system is still in force, but in towns and in the large business organisations a complete change has taken place. The smaller employers of labour, such as carpenters and bootmakers, would like it to continue; but they cannot obtain apprentices on these terms. The younger generation prefer greater freedom of action, and object to being controlled in this way. They want a fixed salary and wish to be more independent. This is quite understandable, but, at the same time, they try to have it both ways, as they agitate for payment in good times and in bad, and consider that they are being treated unfairly if, owing to economic reasons, their masters have to cut down the number of employees and discharge them.

Under the old system the normal wages of the labourers may have been smaller than they are under present conditions, but the system carried with it the assurance that, whether times were good or bad, their employers would provide for their upkeep; but it is only natural that if they are given a fixed salary, as at present, they cannot expect their employers to pay them when their services are no longer required. Nevertheless the fact remains that a great many Japanese clerks and labourers fail to see this point of view, and stir up trouble against their employers accordingly. They also consider that their masters should give them plenty of notice beforehand if they are to be discharged, and that they should be given retiring allowances on discharge, though they themselves are quite prepared to quit at a moment's notice if a chance of more remunerative employment offers itself elsewhere.

Thus it will be seen that the fault does not lie entirely with the employers, as the employees are very often just as much to blame. The main feature in both cases is that the old moral relationship between employers and employees no longer exists, and all the old sense of mutual loyalty has gone.

Up to a point this is a phenomenon common to nearly all nations at the present day; but it is accentuated in Japan by the fact that the transition has taken place so suddenly.

It is commonly said that social unrest is greatest when times are bad. Up to a point this is true, but it is noteworthy that in Japan labour agitation is at its worst when business is flourishing. The reason for this seems to be that when trade is slack employees are afraid of losing their jobs if they agitate too strongly, and they know it will be difficult to find other work; in other words, they know that their employers have the whip hand and will have no difficulty in replacing them with more docile workers. On the other hand, when business is flourishing the demand for labour is greater than the supply, and the men know that they can force their employers to give them better wages if they threaten to leave, as the employers will be unable to find men to replace them.

So much, then, for labour conditions in the towns; and now, before turning to the political aspect of the situation, let us see how conditions in the country districts are affected by the present tendencies. The Japanese are, after all, still mainly an agricultural people, and the foundations of Japan are based on agriculture.

Owing to the ever-increasing industrialisation of Japan, a great influx from the country to the cities and towns has taken place in recent years. When trade is slack a great many of those who have made their way to the towns to seek their fortunes return to the hamlets and villages whence they came; but they are no longer the sturdy, hard-working country folk that they were when they left. They have become accustomed to a higher standard of living, and their habits and customs are more luxurious and, therefore, more expensive. Far from having learnt to work harder, they find that their town experience has softened them and made them unfit for the long, heavy hours that an agricultural life entails. Their brothers and sisters who have never experienced town life can live much more cheaply than they can, and do not regard it as a hardship; but the man who has once tasted of the comparative luxuries of urban existence finds it very difficult to return to peasant life. As, however, he is unable to increase his income sufficiently to enable him to continue living up to the standard enjoyed by him in the towns, the only alternative is to look about for some way in which to reduce expenditure without lowering his standard of living. The most obvious way out of the difficulty is to induce his landlord to reduce the rate of taxation on the land he is working.

The landlord, on his part, finds the ever-increasing cost of living a burden which is just as hard for him to bear as it is for his tenants. Land, even in the country districts of Japan, is ridiculously expensive, and costs very much more than land of the same quality does in England or America. The landlord is therefore unable to meet the wishes of his tenants even if he would like to do so. The result is that friction arises between the two, and each comes to bear a grudge against the other.

Just as the countryman who has been spoiled by town life is dissatisfied with his lot when he returns to rural surroundings, so also are the University-educated sons of the landlords if, on returning to their country homes, they are unable to live and dress in foreign-or, at least, semi-foreign-style, such as they have been accustomed to doing during the course of their studies in the colleges or abroad. If their parents wish to satisfy their wants in this respect, there may be no way of obtaining the necessary money other than by raising the rents of their tenants; but this they cannot do without increasing the discontent amongst these people. Owing to the high price of land, the most profitable thing to do would be to sell what they have; but they do not like to take this step, as it entails losing the respect which, even in these days, is attached to the landowner. They are therefore in a quandary, and find it difficult to contrive measures whereby they can afford to satisfy their children.

Thus it will be seen that, in town and country alike, there is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction amongst all classes, and this is where the danger lies. It is this spirit of unrest that political agitators, who have their own knives to grind, can use for their own purposes.

It is only in recent years that politics have been allowed to intrude into this situation. The late war is largely responsible for this political awakening, as so much was talked of the people's rights and of the doubtful blessings of democracy. In Japan, even the lowliest coolie reads his newspaper; and, through the medium of the Press, he has become impregnated with the general spirit of unrest that is prevailing throughout the world at the present time. Probably he does not understand half he reads, and herein lies yet another danger, which demonstrates the truth of the old adage which contends that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.' What he does learn is that the capitalists and the bureaucrats are supposed to be using him as a mere pawn in the game for their own ends, and that, therefore, he should rise up and combine with other members of the downtrodden classes, on the principle that unity is strength.

Labour organisations are a new phase in Japanese life, and are still in an undeveloped state; but they are increasing in strength yearly, and are making their presence felt. Even women are joining these leagues and associations, and are forming their own unions and societies. A noticeable feature in the recent May Day demonstrations that were held in Tokyo and in the main commercial centres throughout the country was the number of women taking part in the processions and the speeches that were made by some of them.

As in all Eastern nations, women have until recently been kept very much in the background in Japan; but they, too, like the men of the labouring classes, are beginning to demand emancipation. Women are now to be found in all walks of Japanese life -in business, in the medical profession, in the position of typists or of tram and omnibus conductors, and in many other kinds of work