Occupation force's activities
Lieutenant-General Northcott reported that the British Commonwealth Occupation Force had made significant progress during its first two months in Japan. Its work included restoring essential services, repairing ports and airfields, employing thousands of Japanese labourers, recovering military stores, improving communications, and locating munitions for destruction, while demonstrating the effectiveness of Commonwealth cooperation.
OCCUPATION FORCE'S ACTIVITIES
Australian Associated Press
TOKYO, Monday. — An official statement by Lieutenant-General Northcott, reviewing the British Commonwealth Occupation Force's last two months' activities, said they had given the Japanese proof that the Empire soldier, "however varied his uniform, is truly representative of one great democratic commonwealth."
The statement said that more than 20,000 men from the armies and air forces of Britain, India, Australia, and New Zealand reached Japan on March 20 for the occupation area, which was double the size of Eire, having a population of 7,000,000. The area would be expanded as British forces were doubled. A direct air service to Australia was being run three times a week, and a direct radio link with Melbourne was handling 30,000 words a day without a breakdown.
General Northcott added that after the arrival of the first ship on February 13, twenty-seven transport and cargo vessels were handled at Kure docks, unloading a total of 113,000 tons in a port which was almost completely put out of action by accurate heavy bombing.
Airfields at Bufu, Iwakuni, and Mino were opened and extended to accommodate the occupation air forces, as well as other small airstrips for light aircraft.
The restoration of essential services was a colossal task, but water was supplied now to all the main ports. Electric power lines were repaired and more than 20,000 light bulbs were installed in Kure alone. Steam heating and several hundred electric heaters, supplemented by oil stoves, were installed in two hospitals in Etajima and two in Kure.
The statement continued that nearly 8,000 Japanese were employed reconditioning damaged buildings, port facilities, and roads. Enormous quantities of stores, equipment, and fittings accumulated by the Japanese in huge underground caves at Kure had been located, catalogued, and transported for the use of occupation troops.
Civil telephone lines were taken over and 600 miles of buried cable, laid by the Japanese, put in order. A Japanese automatic switchboard for a thousand subscribers was in operation for the military, and 400 lines had been added, though only one occupation soldier had any knowledge of automatic telephones.
Great underground and surface munition dumps were located for destruction.