JAPANESE COMMAND

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 April 1942, Page 3

JAPANESE COMMAND

CHANGES AS SEQUEL TO AIR RAIDS HOME GUARD OFFICERS TO BE TRIED. GENERAL MUTO REMOVED FROM POST. LONDON, April 21. Axis reports state that air raid warnings were sounded today in western and central Japan. Japanese Ministers have submitted to Cabinet reports on the damage done in Saturday’s raids.

it is stated that commanders of Japanese Home Guard units are to be court-martiailed as a result of the American air raids and that further changes are to be made at the Japanese War Office. An earlier New York message quoted the Tokio official radio as announcing that Lieutenant-General Akira Muto had been “removed from his post as Chief of the Japanese Bureau of Military Affairs.” Th'e Ministry of War announced that Major-General Kenaryo Sato had been appointed to that post.

Lieutenant-General Muto, formerly military attache at the Embassy in Berlin, filled various important posts in North China during the war, and represented Japan at the Anglo-Japanese parley at Tokio in July, 1939.

RATHER CONFUSED SITUATION IN BURMA. SANDWICH OF CONFLICTING FORCES. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 9.25 a.m.) RUGBY, April 21. Authoritative circles in London stated today that the situation in Burma could only be described at the moment as confused. There was a “sandwich” of conflicting forces south of Yenangyaung, which is reported to have been recaptured by joint British and Chinese troops, converging respectively from the south and north. It is not clear, however, whether the infiltrating Japanese troops are cut off by the British forces or the reverse. Further east, the British apparently are still holding Taungdwingyi, but little activity by the Chinese has been reported on the railway about Pyinmana. A very rough estimate of the Japanese forces employed in Burma is three to five divisions, with an unstated number of tanks. A Burma communique states: “Considerable success attended the action in the Yenangyaung area, mentioned in yesterday’s communique. In this

action our armoured forces and Chinese troops gave excellent support to our main forces in that sector, as a result of which they were able to withdraw across the Pinchaung River. Chinese forces are now in oclupation of Yenangyaung and no further action there is reported by them. “Reinforced Japanese forces in the Bwwlake-Loikaw area are exerting heavy pressure on our troops, which is being met with stubborn resistance.”