WITH KIWIS IN JAPAN

Chronicle (Levin), 16 May 1946, Page 2

WITH KIWIS IN JAPAN

FIRST WHITE PEOPLE TO VISIT ONE ISLAND (N.Z. Official Correspondent with the j" Force) . ■ KURE, May 14. The New Zealand Forces in^de history when they landed thi's weelc on the island of Mishima, about ten square miles of land off Hagi on the north' coast of Hanshu in the Yamaguchi m'efecture. Men under the eommand !of Major It. Ferguson, of Whangarei, were the first European inhabitants the island had ever seen. Patrols thorouglx^ly searched the island. No arms or "ammunition were found but a wireless station and radar base, both inactive, were discovered. From sixty to eighty Japanese servicemen were locatcd. on the island during the war but since the surrender have rehabilitated themselves. The New Zealanders travelled in a tugboat from Hagi, taking four hours for the trip. They found the Japanese people living under conditions not really affected by war and carrying out their old customs. The island supports 2532 inhabitants whose indus'tries are fishing axid agriculture. The garisli paper carp wliich have bten a prominent feature of the Japanese domestic laudscapo during the past week, are disappearing. Gynlbolising the tango or boys' festi-val vvhich has May 5 as its focal day, koinobori or carp streamers are flown to signify tliat the sons of the liousehold are. strong like a carp swimming .upstream against a fast flowiug current. Under succcssive militaristie regimes the, f cstival lias liad increaing military significance but only the Japanese equivaleiit of a Rip Van Winkle could liave eonstrued any military undertones into this year's innocuous observance. The most military touch in the celebrations in this area was the sight of cnthusiastic New Zealand camera owners who found the puper fish bedecked flagxioles satisfactory subjects. Althougli in comfortable barracks, with the advent of summer weather bringing prospects of still morc sporting and recreational- activities, , tlie .New Zealand ti'OOps are lodking' forward to the arrival of ' the New Zealand: relicf draft. • A'inatter for liiinor rctgrct among the prcs'cnt' occupational' personneJ is that the New Zealaiid6r's 'turn on' guard duty in Tokio will probably have to be postpo'ned nnt.il after'TliQ newcdihers have arfived. Consequently few of the present J Force tv'ill see the .eapital. The newcomdrs will have an interesti.ng time. Areas suitable , for conversion into sports fields" have been ^lqcate.d. %nff, work oji these i^e^in^ ^lien iabour and Bullclozers ' are available from more . importapt ..coiistr'uct^onal tasks. Rest eamps in the jnountains or at the seasi'de will be sct up. Oue of the first opened was for headquarters personuel at an attracti.ye beach site about fif teen miles from $hiuiouoseki. The arca has tlie poetic name of Moonlight Forcst but the, Now. Zealaxiders renamed it nostalgically Waikuku. A liuge coal niinc located almost entircly beneath the ocean, is being investigated by Amcricau experts. The mine is situatod at Ube about oue hour's drive up tlie coast from New Zealand headquarters outside Bhiuionoscki. Tlie. Japauesc estimatcd that some onc liuiidred millious of tons of high ash bituminous coal could be procured from this source. This coalmine aud also other industries iu Ubc, were owned by oue man. However, "the boss of Ubc" was morc interested in liimsolf than in tlic national war effort as tho Japanese mining authorities disclosed they had been systomatically defrauding their own government conccrning their production. Also in the Ncw Zciiland occupational area. is one of the biggest anthracite coalfields in Japan, the mine field near Yamaguchi.