Araki Out

"Only General Araki can ride the tiger," was a picturesque excuse passed around among Japanese politicians when they found themselves forced to make him War Minister with the powers of a quasi-Dictator (TIME, April 4. 1932). "The tiger" was Japan's Army &: Navy, then rampant with the ardor of fire-eating younger officers "to wage a purifying struggle [war] for the Divine Emperor." Last week, in view of the spectacular success in Japanese eyes of General Araki's two year ride on the tiger, the entire Far East was profoundly jolted by abrupt news that General Araki had resigned "because of ill health."

When the scraggly-mustached, ascetic General took charge, Japan's tiger was so restive that petty naval officers assassinated Premier Ki Inukai because they considered him a pacifist (TIME, May 23, 1932). Trusting General Araki, the fighting services who despise and hate all Japanese politicians, then settled down to the glorious tiger work of gobbling up Manchukuo and parts of China proper, not forgetting the Japanese naval clawing at Shanghai. Probably the Araki "ride" saved Japanese parliamentary government from being destroyed by a coup d'etat.

On last New Year's Day citizens of Tokyo were dying of influenza at the rate of 90 per day. General Araki caught it. As the epidemic was brought under control he was said to have pneumonia. With Parliament about to reassemble this week Japan's politicians looked for a chance to reassert themselves as the War Minister lay abed. Japan's new Foreign Minister, Mr. Koki Hirota, recently her Ambassador to Moscow, hoped for a chance to launch with caution a somewhat more conciliatory policy toward Russia.

On his hard wooden pillow General Araki pondered these things and the flame of his fighting loyalty burned high. "I am too weak now," he said. "Another must take my place." This other turned out to be a tiger man more militant if possible than invalid Araki--hale & hearty General Senjuro Hayashi, Inspector General of Military Education.

"The more things change the more they become the same," winked a complacent War Office official pointing out that his new chief recently wrote the preface to the novel provocatively describing a war between Japan and Soviet Russia.* But despite his militancy War Minister Hayashi is rated more cosmopolitan than General Araki. Several times he has represented Japan in Geneva, gained a broader world view. On taking office he had nothing to say to correspondents, beyond admitting that the Japanese Who's Who is correct in listing his recreation as "the collecting of swords."

*Not to be confused with the novel about the war between Japan and the U. S. with a preface by Vice Admiral Suetsugu, Commander of the Japanese Fleet (TIME, Dec. 25).

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