Last night I had supper with the Vice Grand Chancellor of the University of Santo Tomas, Msgr. Taguchi, the Honorable Shozo Murata, former Minister of the Imperial Cabinet and technical adviser to the Military Administration, Recto, Laurel, the Deans and some faculty members of the University of Santo Tomas.
Before supper, we visited the different places of the Main Building.
The internees offered to clean the museum, the laboratories and the library. The other parts of the Main Building are occupied by the internees. The corridors have been converted into dormitories.
There were the usual after-supper speeches. The Vice Grand Chancellor spoke about the past and present of the University. Fr. Ito acted as interpreter. The Honorable Murata spoke next. He was the highest Japanese civilian official in the Philippines and spoke about the cultural and spiritual significance of a Greater East Asia. The discourse was translated into English by the Japanese consul. Col. Narusawa, Chief of the Religious Section of the Army, and Msgr. Taguchi were the last speakers.
There was a lack of spontaneity, of natural sincerity, of enthusiasm, and a lot of affected courtesies. The language barrier was perhaps the reason for all that. I was seated between a Catholic officer and Father Ito.