30 NOVEMBER 1951, Page 2

Japanese Outlook

The 33 Labour Members of Parliament who voted on Monday against the Japanese Treaty Bill appear not to have troubled to think whether their opposition was really necessary. They were determined to express their fears about the menace of Japanese trade competition by criticising the ratification of the Treaty of Peace signed in San Francisco in September by a Socialist Foreign Minister. They were not deterred by the fact that, both inside the House of Commons and outside it, awareness of inevitable growth of Japanese competition with Britain, par- ticularly in the fields of textiles and pottery, is lively and wide- spread. The facts that the treaty has been signed, that the British Government has already refused to grant the Japanese most- favoured-nation treatment in international trade, and that to try to hold up the treaty now—which would imply getting all the other signatories to refuse to ratify—would be a completely irresponsible act, were all passed over. Yet the Government and all the more responsible elements in the Opposition are all perfectly clear as to the dangers which will arise as Japan gets into her full stride and the pressure of competition is felt not only in the sale of manufactured goods but also in the purchase of scarce raw materials. To vote against the treaty is not the right way to set about reducing the danger. International agencies exist for maintaining and raising labour standards. Trade unions exist in Japan with the same purpose as the trade unions in this country—to do their best for their members. In these circumstances to refuse to ratify the treaty—a political instrument—would be foolish and unnecessary.