It is a matter of great felicitation that this General Assembly of Greater East Asia Newspapers is being held with numerous representatives of the newspapers of the greater East Asia area gathered here. The first convention of newspapers in East Asia was held in Tokyo in 1940, the second in Canton in the following year and the third at Hsinking on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the founding of Manchoukuo. But they were conferences with the participation of delegates only from Japan, Manchoukuo and China, and we always regretted the absence of delegates from other countries within greater East Asia.
I am very happy that the present General Assembly is being opened with the participation of delegates not only from Japan, Manchoukuo and China, but also from distant Thailand, the Philippines, Burma, Hongkong, Borneo, Malaya, Java, Celebes, Ceram and Sumatra. Together with the Assembly of Greater East Asiatic Nations which was recently held, the present convention certainly is symbolic of the increasing prosperity of greater East Asia. It is indeed a great pleasure for me to be able to speak to you at this time.
We are fighting at the present to make secure the peace of greater East Asia by defending it from Anglo-American aggression and to bring greater East Asia back to the true form by freeing it from the shackles of America and Britain, thus to bring about the revival and rising prosperity of greater East Asia. We express from our hearts our respects for the earnest and effective work you are carrying on day and night in your newspaper work for the successful prosecution of the war of greater East Asia and the construction of greater East Asia.
In the course of Anglo-American aggression in East Asia for many centuries past, their most powerful weapons were their propaganda and machinations.
During the European dark ages and in the middle ages, they sought light from the East and found a way to the East. At first they made use of sea routes and asked to be allowed to trade with us, begging the importation of East Asiatic knowledge and articles. Next, they planned to exploit abundant East Asia and to grind under their heels the paradise of East Asia. On the surface they deceived the East Asiatics by honeyed words and all the while they used every art of trickery and deception. By that they succeeded with only small armed power in extending their evil clutches to India, Ceylon, Malaya, Burma, Indonesia, the Philippines, and a hundred years ago to China,
thus competely [sic] invading East Asia and bringing it totally under their power in a period of only two or three hundred years.
Against these regions which they monopolized, they skilfully engineered to bring about discord among the various peoples of East Asia, pitted them against one another, and succeeded in their traditional policy of "divide and rule." By means of extensive undersea cable facilities, which they monopolized, combined with the network of overland communications, America and Britain were quick to monopolize the rights to gather and carry news in East Asia. As a result, all developments in East Asia were reported to other countries and to the world through British and American hands and at the same time foreign reports which were passed on to the East Asiatics and all articles of foreign countries published in East Asiatic newspapers were news which were first coloured by the British or Americans. Particularly, the East Asiatics were not allowed to communicate and exchange news among themselves even in East Asia.
The Anglo-Americans not only encroached upon East Asia politically and exploited East Asia economically, but also converted East Asia into their "news colony."
In addition, they misused the right of communications, only considering their own interests and put into effect every trick, every bit of deception. Any report they considered opposed to their own interests they either suppressed or distorted, no matter how it succeeded in revealing the true state of East Asia or how greatly it reflected the intentions of the East Asiatics. And to hide and cover up their insatiable greed and exploitation of East Asia they sent out propaganda filled with skilfull [sic] colouring and fabrications. As an example may be pointed out the pressure they put on other races by skilfully working behind the screen of beautiful words they used such as calling for equal opportunities, the open door, freedom and equality.
The development, in recent years, of wireless communications served to break down a part of this Anglo-American control of "news" territory. But they organized their so-called world news federation and continued to monopolize the news gathering and distributing rights in East Asia. Until quite recently, newspapers in East Asia were not allowed even to omit or select news which was supplied by them. Thus, though we all lived in the same East Asia, our eyes looking at East Asia were kept covered and because of their machinations and propaganda, amazing misunderstandings were implannted [sic] in our minds, and we were forced to be isolated from one another.
I am not speaking of long ago; this was the actual situation in East Asia until a few years back.
Immediately before the outbreak of the war of greater East Asia they attempted to force Japan to capitulate without resorting to arms by simultaneously effecting an economic blockade and launching a huge offensive propaganda. They resorted to every threat in the name of the so-called ABCD encirclement and launched a desperate propaganda offensive by launching openly large-scale propaganda organs in Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore and Bangkok. That is still fresh in your memories.
However, once Japan took up arms and declared war on America and Britain, the aggressors of East Asia, the Japanese Army and Navy immediately crushed them, and the peoples of East Asia, who are of the same blood, extended wholehearted co-operation to Japan, in spite of long years of Anglo-American propaganda, and brought terror to the enemy. The just and righteous war aims of Japan, the wholehearted co-operation of the greater East Asiatic races with Japan and the construction of greater East Asia are powerful, undeniable facts which shatter most effectively enemy propaganda and machinations.
Truthful news reporting and unbiassed journalism which are based on these outstanding facts completely overwhelmed enemy propaganda at the outset of the present war just as in the case of the armed struggle.
Thus we of East Asia have driven the long years of American and British influence out of East Asia completely in the field of news gathering, carrying and distribution also. The facts regarding East Asia are now reported by East Asiatics, things advocated by East Asiatics are revealed directly by East Asiatics to East Asia and to the world, foreign reports seen by East Asiatic eyes and gathered by East Asiatic hands are published in the papers and made known to the various peoples of East Asia, and here for the first time East Asia has been able to get newspapers of East Asia written by East Asiatics. And it is a matter of great happiness that their set-up is being made more complete day by day, month by month. In addition, our news reporting, in contrast to the fact that the Anglo-American method begins and ends with lies, deception and intrigue, is based always on truth, straightforwardness and without prejudice. I believe firmly that this truthful reporting and honest press are indeed the motivating force which will bring about the birth of a new order.
The enemy now feels a terror and threat because of the miserable defeat it suffered in the early stages of the war together with the advance of greater East Asiatic construction and the unity of the peoples of greater East Asia. The enemy has cast aside the propaganda it used at first in which it declared that it was certain to gain victory in a long war, and is moving out in a desperate counter-movement aiming at a decisive short war. In news reporting and propaganda, too, fabrications and wild talk are becoming more blunt and the enemy hastiness cannot possibly be concealed.
America and Britain are always covering up as much as they can from their people their defeats and are hiding all unpleasant facts. For example, they were not able to announce the facts of the defeat at Pearl Harbour for a year. And recently, they have been trying to be as vague as they can concerning the string of defeats suffered off Bougainville Island and are doing all they can to fool their people in regard to the Assembly of Greater East Asiatic Nations. In the first place, their war aims are not clear and their allies are uneasy, having no common ideology or common aims. Thus they are discussing post-war management and topics concerning the maintenance of peace, doing all they can to deceive their people and bring disorder into our camp. These petty acts, however, are merely a kind of dream story before
the truth of magnificent greater East Asia. And they only serve to reveal more clearly to us the continuous clashes and frictions going on between them and the unrest and difficulties in their countries, in spite of the fact that they are doing all they can to conceal these facts.
Against this, in our greater East Asia, the Japan-Manchoukuo and Japan-Thailand ties are becoming still closer, a new treaty of alliance has been signed between Japan and China, Burma and the Philippines have attained glorious independence, Indonesia has been granted political collaboration, and going further, we have witnessed the establishment of the Provisional Government of Azad Hind. More than that, from the fifth of this month the Assembly of Greater East Asiatic Nations was held which saw the proclamation of the magnificent Joint Declaration.
The nations of greater East Asia vowed to work together and defend themselves against Anglo-American aggression and to liberate greater East Asia from Anglo-American shackles, thus to complete the construction of greater East Asia and contribute to the establishment of world peace. They set forth five basic principles for the construction of greater East Asia and proclaimed them to the world. The first principle is that of common prosperity and common well-being. The new order to be constructed in greater East Asia will have morals as its foundation and the greater East Asiatic nations are not bound only in relations of rights and duties, but going beyond that, are tied by morals and love. They want to bring about an eternal and mutual prosperity by loving each other, encouraging each other and securing the stability of greater East Asia by sharing each other's hardship and happiness and working all together.
The second principle is one of independence and mutual amity. The nations of greater East Asia will treat each other as brothers, respecting each other's freedom and independence without unjustly violating them, will help and love each other and thus bring about true amity in greater East Asia. In olden times, the culture of greater East Asia lighted the world, but because of materialistic European civilization that light was obliterated, and by Anglo-American aggression the originality of the greater East Asiatic peoples was suppressed and greater East Asia went under Anglo-American invasion also in the cultural field.
Now, however, we respect each other's traditions and are driving higher each of our cultures and at the same time are promoting the growth of the superior originality which we possess. Thus we want to bring about the revival, building and development of characteristic greater East Asiatic culture.
Principle four is that of economic prosperity. Greater East Asia possesses infinite resources, but these until now had been monopolized by the Americans and the British. Today we have taken them back into the hands of the peoples of greater East Asia and are marching forward for their development and the progress of each other's national economies.
The fifth principle is the principle for contributing to the progress of the world. We of greater East Asia, at the same time as becoming firmly
united as one, will cultivate warm friendships with all nations of the world, abolishing racial discrimination and prejudices, promote the interflow of cultures, throw open our resources to the world, welcome any who wish to co-operate with us, give the world what is good, take in the good points of the nations of the world, and thus contribute to the advancement of mankind.
This Greater East Asia Declaration is a clear-cut manifestation of the common ideal of the greater East Asiatic peoples. Unlike the empty and specious Anglo-American pronouncements, the greater East Asia Declaration is based on actualities in East Asia. Unlike the Anglo-American principles of aggression, exclusionism and egoism, the Greater East Asia Declaration is an outline of the construction of greater East Asia based on moral principles. It is, I believe, the supreme goal to be shown to the whole of mankind and the most remarkable document ever written since the dawn of history.
The proclamation of this grand declaration will strengthen still further the determination of the races of greater East Asia, who share a common ideal and a common mission, to march forward toward their common goal. I believe also that along with the establishment of a thorough understanding of this grand declaration, the war of greater East Asia will be successfully prosecuted and the construction of greater East Asia consummated.
To proclaim to the whole world the ideal of building up greater East Asia as manifested in this declaration and to guide public opinion in various countries with a view to the realization of the ideal—that is the glorious mission devolving upon the newspapermen of greater East Asia. The fulfilment of this mission will, I believe, go a long way toward not only the construction of East Asia, but also toward the progress of mankind.