893.01 Manchuria/591
The Consul General at Mukden (Myers) to the Minister in China (Johnson) 85
Sir: Referring to my despatch No. 599, dated June 14, 1932,84 forwarding a list of Japanese in the service of [the] Manchoukuo Government, I have the honor to enclose herewith a list84 of the principal officials, both Chinese and Japanese, of the Changchun Government. [Page 283] These names, except where otherwise noted, were taken from lists published in the Manchoukuo Government Gazette. The list contains the names of a few less important Japanese in each office, and the recapitulation at the end of the list shows the total number of names published. The English names of the various offices given in the list are those adopted by the Government.
It will be noted from the recapitulation that there are 509 natives (Chinese, Manchus and Mongols) and 312 Japanese holding official positions with the central Government at Changchun—these figures include subordinates as well as principal officials. It is possible, as is obvious in the case of the Department of Defence, that the published list of office-holders is not complete. It is understood that the personnel of this Department is almost entirely Japanese. Too, some of the posts have apparently not yet been filled.
It is noteworthy that the most important branches of the Government have the largest proportion of Japanese. First in this category is the Council of State Affairs or Cabinet which comprises the Prime Minister and the heads of the various departments. This Council is dominated, or possibly more correctly speaking directed, by the General Affairs Board whose principal officers are all Japanese. Other branches of the Government in which the Japanese are numerically strong are the Department of Communication, the Department of Finance, the Supervisory Council and the Metropolitan Police Board. It may be added that the Legislative Council, Government Training Bureau and Department of Education—the last mentioned has only recently been formed—are not yet properly organized.
Brief reference may be made to several Japanese personalities in the Government. Tokusan Komai, Chief of the General Affairs Board—Secretary-General and Director-General are favorite press titles for him—, has been without doubt the leading figure in the Government since its formation and possibly contributed more to its establishment than any one individual. In this connection, however, it may be mentioned that recent Japanese press reports referred to Lieutenant-General Honjo, the predecessor of General Muto as Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army, as the Father of Manchoukuo. Komai, however, is looked upon as a revolutionist rather than a constructive leader and in view of this fact and of certain personal characteristics his eventual retirement, which has been announced several times, is taken for granted by well-informed Japanese. G. Sakatani, who was formerly head of the Bureau of General Affairs in the Finance Department, is now Vice Chief of this Board. Major-General Itagaki, who has been one of the most active and influential staff officers of the Kwantung Army and allegedly a strong proponent of the new order in Manchuria, has been recently promoted to the rank of Major-General [Page 284] and made a personal adviser to the Chief Executive. Masahiko Amakasu who gained much notoriety as a police officer during the earthquake in Japan in 1923 (his exploits are described in “Japan under Taisho Tenno” by A. Morgan Young) is a councilor in the Chief Executive’s office. Ohashi, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs; Hoshino, Chief of the Bureau of General Affairs of the Finance Department; and Washio, the active head of the Central Bank, appear to be prominent in their respective spheres.
As has been previously reported, the South Manchuria Railway Company has been the chief source of supply of Japanese officials and councilors (formerly called advisers) to Manchoukuo. A report in the Manchuria Daily News of August 6 was to the effect that altogether 161 officials of the South Manchuria Railway Company had left the Company’s service to join that of the Manchoukuo Government, provincial and central. It stated further that the release of the last lot of 58 was announced in the Company’s gazette of August 6. The Army had great need for additional assistance both for the proper administration of its own greatly increased affairs following the incident of September 18, 1931, and also for controlling and assisting local administrations and official and semi-official enterprises. Many of these employees later joined one or another branch of the Manchoukuo service while some are still with the Army. From a reliable source it has been learned that payment of the salaries of these employees of the Army and for other assistance afforded it, directly or indirectly, have made heavy inroads into the Company’s surplus funds.
Next to the South Manchuria Railway Company the Japanese Government has, it is believed, furnished the largest number of officials or employees. As mentioned in reports from this office, one group of about 25 postal officials under Mr. Fujiwara—he is now Chief of the Postal Affairs Bureau in the Department of Communications—came from Japan in June last and some time later a number of Finance Ministry officials were released for the same purpose. Recently the press reported that at the request of the Changchun Government the Japanese Minister of Education has recommended Masai Nishiyama, ex-Director of the Bureau of Religion of the Ministry, for the post of Chief of the General Affairs Bureau of the Department of Education at Changchun. It may be mentioned that with one exception the Bureau of General Affairs in every department is headed by a Japanese and except in departments where a Japanese occupies a higher ranking office the head of that bureau is the dominant figure in that particular branch of the Government.
As may be expected under the conditions described above, the Chinese members of the Government are not free agents and their activities are bound to be circumscribed. In some cases, such as for instance, [Page 285] Hsieh Chieh-shih, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Ting Chien-hsiu, Minister of Communications, they are to all appearances willingly and satisfactorily playing the role assigned to them, while in others they perforce supply the desired “window-dressing” and perform only the duties that are required of them. It is a well known fact that persons desiring to transact any business with the Government at Changchun invariably interview a Japanese. Likewise at Mukden, it is the sanction or assurance of the Japanese Chief of the Bureau of General Affairs in the Governor’s office which is always sought and not that of the Governor. Such is the working of the Government of Manchoukuo, every branch of which has its Japanese official or councilor who effectively controls or checks the performance of its functions.
It will be recalled that at the time of the inauguration of Manchoukuo the impression was given that Japanese who entered the service of Manchoukuo would become Manchoukuo citizens. This development, if ever seriously considered, has been lost sight of, the high Japanese officials of Manchoukuo being still Japanese subjects and amenable to Japanese law. In private conversation with a responsible Japanese, it was learned that the status of Japanese subjects in the service of Manchoukuo is regarded as the same as that of foreigners in the Chinese Customs and Postal services. In brief, the administration of the country is controlled by aliens who are only subject to the jurisdiction of their national authorities, the representatives of the Japanese Government. Although the legal status of such a state of affairs may be anomalous, the position of the country for all practical purposes is unmistakable.
Respectfully yours,