The Duty of Citizenship. 



301 



NATIONAL UNANIMITY ON ESSENTIALS. 



Naturally there ar^ and have been, differences 

 amonji the various sections of the Japanc;!: nation, 

 but they are ineffective when exposed to the binding 

 force of patriotism. The nation is not rent by schisms 

 and divisions, but is always unanimous on essentials, 

 though they may differ on details. All the leaders 

 are inspired by the same moral ideas, by the same 

 fervent a^pirations for the national well-being. What 

 is true of the nation at large is true also of the political 

 element which under the constitution a.ssists in the 

 guiding of the national destinies. Matters of vital 

 importance are never made the sport of parly politics ; 

 matters of foreign policy are not made the chance 

 playthings of changing governments. The foreign 

 policy is a stable thing, continuous and far-reaching, 

 and docs not change with the administration. The 

 Ministers of the army and the navy continue. There 

 has been a very serious discussion as to the advisability 

 of continuing the Foreign Minister from one cabinet 

 to another, and though this has not yet been done, 

 foreign policy is already a matter quite outside party 

 influence or wrangling ; and matters domestic are not 

 mingled or allowed to influence national affairs. In 

 naval and military matters continuity of Ministers 

 has practically been arrived at. 



THE DUTIES OF A POLITICAL PARTY. 



Prince Ito, Japan's greatest statesman, never 

 ceased from impressing on his countrymen the supreme 

 necessity of unity. 



" In view of the duties it owes to the State," he says, 

 ' a political party ought to make its primary object 

 to devote its whole energies to the public weal. In 

 order to improve and infuse life and vigour into the 

 administrative machinery of the country, .so as to 

 enable it to keep up with the general progress of the 

 nation, it is neces.sary that administrative officials 

 sh(Hild be recruited, under a system of defmite quali- 

 fnation-. from among capable men of proper att.iin- 

 ments and experience, irrespective of whether they 

 belong to a political party or not. It is absolutely 

 necessary that caution should be taken to avoid falling 

 into the fatal mistake of giving oflicial posts to men 

 of doul)tful qualifications, simply because they belong 

 to a particular political party. In considering the 

 questions atTecting the interests of local or other 

 corporate bodies, the decision must always be guided 

 by considerations of the general good of the public, 

 and of the relative importance of these questions. 

 In no case should the support of a political party be 

 given for the promotion of any partial interests, in 

 response to con'-iderations of local connections or under 

 the corrupt influences of interested persons. 



" If a politic al party aims, as it should aim, at being 

 a guide to the people, it must first commi-nce with 

 maintaining strict discipline and order in its own rank-., 

 anti, al)ove all, with shaping il.s own conduit with an 

 absolute and sincere devotion to the public interest 

 of the country. . . . 



_" They should further try to avoid all unnecessary 

 friction amongst themselves, or in their dealings with 

 others, all such friction being likely to endanger the 

 social fabric of the country. Above all they must 

 always place the national interests before the transient 

 interests of a political party." 



THE NEED OF AN EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION. 



This sentiment of patriotism might not be so funda- 

 mental a part of the Japanese character were it not 

 developed in every Japanese from earliest infancy, and 

 now finds its greatest support in the educational 

 system. In nothing is the patriotic spirit of the 

 Japanese shown to such advantage as in this intense 

 desire for education, which permeates the whole nation, 

 without distinction of class. It has been recognised 

 that no nation can be truly and permanently great 

 without a serious educational foundation, that 

 ignorance is but as shifting sand whereon to build a 

 house, and it is a national duty to be educated. There- 

 fore the Japanese have acquired an educational 

 system second to none in the world. The moral 

 instruction taught from the Emperor's speech on 

 education is intensely patriotic — and the teachers and 

 pupils alike realise the value of the school in making 

 for progress. Physical training is made much of, in 

 order that the future physical condition of the Japanese 

 race may be efficient and able to support the nation 

 in the ever-increasing physical struggle for existence. 

 It is this which has led to the prohibition by law 

 of tobacco smoking under the age of twenty, and the 

 imposition of penalties, not alone upon the boy, but 

 upon the tobacco dealer and the parent. Desire to 

 avoid stunted physique in future generations is the 

 patriotic motive in such restrictive legislation. 



MORAL, NOT RELIGIOUS TEACHING. 



The school system of Japan contains no religious 

 education, as the term is generally understood. In 

 fact, it is the most valuable example of the possibilit)' 

 of teaching moral conduct and right living without 

 dogma. 'I'he Japanese recognise the value of religious, 

 not necessarily Christian, teaching, but say that it 

 should be taught elsewhere than in the schools. They 

 take the ground that, since religion to be of value 

 must be the result of conviction, it is impossible that 

 children of the tender age of six could reason out the 

 mysteries and difficulties of religious dogmas. Con- 

 fusion in the mind of the child is bound to result, and 

 the development of the intelligence suffers by intro- 

 duction of abstract and inconi|)rehensible subtleties. 

 That a child in the primary schools can understand, 

 for instance, the idea of the atonement for sin clearly 

 enough to do him good, and not merely to mystify 

 him, is incom|)rchensil)le to the Japanese mind. In as 

 far as religious education is made the \ehiile of moral 

 instruction, an<l for the development of character, the 

 Japanese quite recognise its value ; but they do not 

 (omplicate these moral teaihings, which may be made 

 intelligible to the child liy abstract and sectarian 

 dogmius and creeds. Moral leaching forms a part of the 



