NEWS OF THE WEEK
F the concluding stages in the proceedings which will culminate I with the signing of the formal instrument of surrender by japan on an American battleship on September 2 should seem at this distance to have been long drawn-out, it should be remembered that the concentration of the British and American fleets in battle order in Japanese waters and the landing of aeroplanes and men on Japanese soil constituted a considerable military operation. No risks could be taken. There are undefeated Japanese troops in their own country, and we do not yet know the temper of the population or the fighting men. In the vast areas of the Pacific and the Asiatic mainland progress has been made towards accepting the surrender of scattered Japanese forces, which are only gradually becoming in- formed of the position and convinced of the authenticity of the orders requiring their surrender. The Russians have been receiving surrenders on a large scale in Manchuria, and General Chiang Kai- shek's armies have been sweeping on to occupy towns in China. The British in Rangoon have made preliminary agreements which pave the way for the occupation of Singapore by Lord Louis Mount- batten's forces. In the Pacific islands, where Australians have been locked in deadly struggle with the Japanese, the position has not everywhere got beyond that of an armed truce. In Japan itself the Government has been preparing the minds of the people to accept the fact of defeat, and some of its spokesmen are beginning to adopt the attitude of patriots converted to the doctrines of anti- militarism and democracy. The political task which confronts the Allies in Japan will be scarcely less formidable, and will demand far more subtlety than the war itself. They cannot take over the administration of the country as in Germany, yet they have to make sure that the old poison is eliminated. The re-occupation of the extensive territories seized by the Japanese will be an immense under- taking, and many economic problems will need solution. The Pacific Peace Treaty will be a complicated affair.
