Chapter 572: The Japanese Want to Visit

Yoshida Shigeru was a small and unimpressive man, but he was married to Yukiko, the granddaughter of one of the most famous Meiji ministers, Okubo Toshimichi, one of the “Three Masters of the Restoration”. This is ten years younger than him Yukiko, is the granddaughter of the famous Meiji minister, “three masters of the new era,” one of the granddaughter of Oukubo Toshimichi, by the emperor’s favor of the current minister Makino Shinshien’s eldest daughter. It is said that Omori was a female Go player who often played Go with Makino.

Japan, Britain and the United States of America is the Japanese government in modern times to implement a long-term national policy, Japan benefited from this national policy, in the Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, the First World War, and continue to expand their power, seized a huge amount of rights and interests.

Shigeru Yoshida’s father-in-law, Makino Shinshin, was a representative of the pro-American faction in the Japanese dynasty, and his political views had a decisive influence on Shigeru Yoshida.

After a difficult post-war period, Shigeru Yoshida was pleased with the current Japanese economy, even though he had gotten his prime ministership by a fluke because Hatoyama was suspected by the occupying forces. But with the goodwill with the Americans, especially MacArthur’s good relationship, he was quickly able to secure his position as prime minister.

The result of the World War had made Shigeru Yoshida realize that there was no good end to oppose the United States, and that Japan should have maintained good relations with Britain and the United States before the war, instead of inflating its ego and joining the war against Britain and the United States.

The news of the victory of the American forces on the Korean Peninsula made Shigeru Yoshida believe that he had made the right choice, and also on his radar was the British conference in Kuala Lumpur.

Defeat had deprived Japan of China, its largest overseas market before the war, and a huge market was indispensable for economic revitalization.

If Japan wanted to develop, it must need a huge market to support it. Therefore, Shigeru Yoshida paid close attention to the situation in Southeast Asia and had his own ideas about the Kuala Lumpur Conference initiated by Britain, the leader of the pre-war world.

As Shigeru Yoshida was considering how to revitalize the conditions for Japan, Isato Ikeda, a close aide he favored, entered his office and greeted his life coach with a respectful gesture.

Ikeda was born into a family of brewery owners in the village of Yoshina, Toyota-gun, Hiroshima Prefecture, and was relatively well-off.

After graduating from Kyoto University with a degree in law and taking a job at the Ministry of Finance, Ikeda rose to prominence after Japan’s defeat and surrender. He played an important role in the economic revival. Recognized as an excellent assistant to Shigeru Yoshida, he was highly trusted as he was deeply appreciated and valued by him.

“Ikeda, come sit down.” Shigeru Yoshida looked at his prized pupil and spoke with a smile.

Isato Ikeda nodded, “Prime Minister, is there anything I was called for.”

“Ikeda, it’s like this, the current US military operations have allowed Japan to grow, we should also take the opportunity to support the US to repair current relations, such as in the direction of Southeast Asia.” Shigeru Yoshida said seriously, “After losing the mainland market, Southeast Asia becomes extremely important to Japan, and at the same time, we also need to gain the understanding of the British, after all, the British Empire is also very powerful in Southeast Asia right now, and from this Kuala Lumpur meeting, we can also see that the UK still has a huge amount of influence, with newly independent countries such as India and other countries, as well as the traditional supporters of the UK Canada, Australia, and so on.”

Isato Ikeda, who was in agreement with his life coach’s idea, said that he meant the same thing, “But the problem in Southeast Asia is very complicated, and the Philippines is clinging to us in an embarrassing way because of wartime casualties.”

“The key is Britain, from what we know at this stage. Britain is using British Malaya as a base for a lot of construction, and another thing is that Britain and the Netherlands, Australia and Holland, which follow Britain, have huge numbers of prisoners of war in their hands, and I believe that if these countries were to release the prisoners of war back to their countries, it would put pressure on the Philippines.”

The thing that the Philippines was most up on after independence was to demand war reparations from Japan. It was only after Alan Wilson delved deeper that he realized he still had people in the same boat.

And it was no secret at all that Japan, as the tight-fisted Japanese, had long been pursued by the Philippines for its debts many times over.

Ikeda Yuto pondered for a moment and inquired in a low voice, “Can we get the support of the United States?”

“This matter will have to continue to be maneuvered, but I would like you to make a trip to Kuala Lumpur, a sort of ice-breaking trip, and it would be best if you could gain the understanding of the British.” Shigeru Yoshida, with a look of I think highly of you, indicated that the responsibility for Japan’s revival rested with Isato Ikeda.

“An industry like iron and steel, which is extremely important to a country, would be inappropriate to place in West Malaysia. Putting it on the Sarawak side is a bit more reassuring.”

At this moment, unaware that a visitor he himself had never expected was coming to his door, Alan Wilson was still in Kuching and East Malaysia Commissioner Edel, inspecting the steel base, which had already begun construction.

Because the two parts of British Malaya, in fact, is not balanced, even after the annexation of the Isthmus of Krakatau, the area of West Malaysia is still a little smaller than East Malaysia, while the population of East Malaysia is far less than West Malaysia, only one-third of the Malay Peninsula.

For the sake of long-term stability, but also in order to stand on the wrong foot for the partition, the industrial arrangement must be focused, the Malay Peninsula population, as well as more convenient sea transportation and other reasons, the textile industry base is a must be placed over there.

As for the tin mine and rubber, are in accordance with the current base development, there is no distribution problem. No one can move the tin mines away, can they? The rubber industry can be balanced.

Then the industry placed in East Malaysia is very important in terms of significance for reliability reasons, and I believe that any country understands the significance of the steel industry to a country. After all, it is a hard indicator of whether or not it is a strong country.

Iron and steel industry is necessary to be placed in the territory of Sarawak, as for the importance, look at France on Allen Wilson proposed Coal and Iron Community how enthusiastic to know, for any country, iron and steel are people as the name, to the existence of a country’s skeleton. It is almost a backbone to speak to the outside world.

Ditto for the oil and gas industry in British Malaya, including extraction and refining. Don’t think that oil refining has no technical content, even in the twenty-first century, many Middle Eastern countries are exporting oil and importing petroleum products, and many of them can’t even refine gasoline.

One of the most important reasons why the refining industry is now very profitable is the pricing mechanism. However, the cost-plus pricing mechanism cannot be maintained in the long run. The future pricing mechanism for refined oil products will become market pricing, which is an inevitable trend. So we must be prepared.

Compared with just simply selling oil, the refining industry is the industry that plays a role in the characteristics of oil, just selling raw materials is not enough.

Although today’s world can even be said that a long time ago when the standard oil just appeared, the United States has been the giant of oil refining, but the United Kingdom in this regard at least is not backward.

Then steel and oil refining, Alan Wilson had decided in his mind to put in the reliable Kingdom of Sarawak. This Pamela Mountbatten likewise already had in mind.

And East Malaysia Commissioner Edel turned around, Allen Wilson some belly hunger and thirst, so he found a place to prepare to eat a little food, after that is back to the Sarawak Kingdom to rest for a while.

Nominally this royal palace had nothing to do with Allen Wilson, the High Commissioner, but that didn’t delay him from disturbing for a moment.

Just then Ender went and returned, and came in and said, “Commissioner, a telegram has come from Eliza saying that there is a delegation from the Japanese Government to discuss the question of prisoners of war.”

“I’m afraid it’s not just a question of prisoners of war.” How many days had passed since the Kuala Lumpur conference? Allen Wilson, who had attended the conference, didn’t forget so easily.

But no matter what, he wasn’t going to make it easy for the Japanese to accomplish anything in any way. Who let him have a father-in-law who let it be known while he was alive that there could be no Japanese at the funeral.

Without even having to talk about such a long time ago, at the previous surrender ceremony of the Japanese surrender, Mountbatten demanded that all Japanese senior generals must be present in front of his men for the official signing ceremony; moreover, the arms must be surrendered on the spot, and these sabers, guns, etc. must be handed out by them to the Allied officers and soldiers present as trophies of war. Furthermore, all Allied officers attending the ceremony must not shake hands with the Japanese generals.

How else could Allen Wilson, who proposed in New Delhi to hold Japanese POWs to make up for the war’s damage to the colonies, have made it so easy? Keeping in mind that he was only the district commissioner of Hyderabad at that time, it was the then Allied commander-in-chief in Southeast Asia, Mountbatten, who played a key role.

“Whoever is coming, arrange it in Penang, there are more Chinese there.” Alan Wilson scanned the telegram, and returned to a boneless state, “Wait until the Japanese arrive, I’ll go back, isn’t there plenty of time?”

If it wasn’t for the fear of involving himself, he would have wanted to set the meeting place on the island where the nuclear tests were conducted, so as to show the importance of the Great Nuclear Nation.

Now it is obvious that British Malaya and Japan, in a competitive relationship to start at the same time. No matter what the purpose of the Japanese this time, Allen Wilson can not agree.

What’s more, it is also unintentional, recently Pamela Mountbatten hands of public opinion, is reporting the war, Southeast Asia colonial army families, was Japan as military prostitutes.

The war has been over for five years, this time to say far not far, at this time to reveal the scars and make still in Southeast Asia’s colonizers annoyed a lot, maybe recently there will be a lot of prisoners of war overwork death.

For the so-called Japanese politicians, Alan Wilson is not interested in understanding, temporary look at the information to do the heart can be, because recognize a, almost equal to recognize the next few decades of Japanese politicians.

To know the Japanese political world is quite solidified, fully consistent with any definition of the bureaucratic class. It can even be said that the offspring of the politicians group, the start is a minister to start.

Waiting for the other side to arrive in the return to the Malay Peninsula does not involve any diplomatic etiquette, on the contrary, Alan Wilson thought it was the right thing to do, as the one who has always boasted of a heavy-handed approach to third world countries.