604 THE CLASS STRUGGLE JAPANESE INTERPRETATION 605 in Japan there is no government for the non propertied classes. Certainly the rice riots, if they have any meaning at all, have proven that the government has failed to give to the people adequate protection, that they have risen in arms therefore to secure for themselves the protection that the government has refused to accord them.
In this sense these riots have revealed a great political crisis in our country. They were more than an isolated attack upon a few millionaires who were in the possession of the food supply of the nation. They were the signal fires for a class war against all propertied classes, on the broad basis of national politics. Japan and the Japanese, a monthly edited by Dr. Mijaki, one of the most prominent writers and thinkers of New Japan, says The recent riots are the expression of the righteous indignation of the people against the government and a revolt against the lawless conduct of the millionaires. The price of rice, according to this paper, was only an incidental cause of the revolt against absolutism and autocracy. They were equally an expression of labor unrest and class feeling, a protest against an inadequate and unequal social system. The direct cause of the riots was the high cost of rice, but the principal cause lay in the Siberian invasion. Sending Japanese troops to Siberia was a thoughtless and wicked act on the part of the government. The riots were an open demonstration of lack of confidence on the part of the people in the government.
Dr. Yokoi, the agricultural authority of Japan, says in Industrial Japan. The past five years have produced super abundant rice crops in Japan. Statistics show that there is no shortage in the rice crop in this year. The high price of rice is due solely to the inflation of currency, and the sudden rise in prices during July and August are directly attributable to the poor policy of the government in its management of the rice business of the country. The recent rice riots were caused, not by the lack of rice, but by the high prices that were demanded for its purchase. The dissatisfaction thus created gave to the people in the lower strata of society the opportunity they have been seeking, to open up a class war against the rich. The class war is said to be the most potent force in the modern world.
In The New Japan Dr. Yamawaki says: In a broad sense, the recent riots were a struggle between the working class and the commercial and industrial class on a huge scale.
And if this class struggle should be carried to its ultimate political significance, we will find that in character and content it is a replica of the Russian Revolution. The recent mass action of propertyless classes and employees in Osaka, Kyoto and vicinity, expressing the popular indignation at the unreasonable cost of rice without waiting for the effect of the ineffectual policy of the government, attempted to lower the price of rice by force and violence, became, perforce, an attack upon rice merchants, a punitive war against rent collectors, a process of sabotage in the factories against the commercial and industrial classes. It is evident that these riots were a part of the class struggle, a popular movement for emancipation from the difficulties of living and of life.
In Japan and the Japanese Dr. Tuchiya says: The recent riots have rapidly developed into a disturbance of the most dangerous nature, because the Japanese have not learned to use organized demonstrations. They have not been allowed to organize themselves even into labor unions. It is a crime to restrain the liberty of the labor movement. In the recent riots ninety per cent. of those arrested came from the working classes.
According to the latest reports (Sept. 12. over five thousand persons were arrested and are awaiting trial. It is estimated by the government that the number of arrests will reach more than 7, 000 before the whole matter is settled.
Among them are numerous socialists. Chief among these is Yei Osugi, arrested at Osaka. The government is particularly desirous of incriminating our comrades as mob leaders. Well