Sanity from Japan The article contributed by Admiral Saito, who
was Prime Minister of Japan up to four or five months ago, to Wednesday's Christian Science Monitor is of very eon- siderak 1 importance. It reflects the views of a common- sense pacifist—nothing more nor less. The frank declara- tion that the expenditure of half a nation's income on armaments is ridiculous, and that the only sane course is to call a halt, flit everything down to a bare defensive minimum, and spend the money saved on social amenities, might have come from Lord 'Cecil himself. But what does Admiral Saito stand for in Japan ? Was it not the militarists and the Big Navy school who got him out of office in July ? And is not official Japan making the failure-of next year's naval conference—if it is considered to be worth holding—inevitable ? But there is one pas- sage in the article that may mean more than all the rest. Admiral Saito declares roundly that the Emperor (whose name is not often invoked thus freely) will refuse to coun- tenance an unlimited armament programme. That is by no means impossible. The Emperor has one or two wise advisers.
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