Jews in Japan have equal rights with the rest of the population, although they are not citizens of the country and occupy no public offices, Prince Takamatsu, brother of the Emperor of Japan, who with the Princess is now visiting New York City, said in a special interview here with Mr. Joel Slonim appearing in the New York Yiddish daily, the “Day”.
The Japanese people do not discriminate between races, the Prince declared, although they regard all those who are not of Japanese blood as foreigners, Jews as well as other European races. All foreigners, however, are treated as well as Japanese citizens, as long as they obey the laws of the country.
Asked whether the number of Jews in Japan is increasing and whether there is any feeling in the country against Jewish immigration, Prince Takamatsu replded: “People who come to us and help us build our country are always welcome. The Japanese people do not want immigrants to enter if they are hostile to us. After the World War Jews from Russia and other countries came to Japan. Most of them are business men, but there are also others who are workers. The economic crisis in the full sense of that term does not prevail among us; we do not know of such a thing as people starving from lack of funds. There is no reason why the Japanese Government should be inimical to Jewish immigrants who wish to come and settle in Japan, if only they are not hostile to us”.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
