"American Defeat at Formosa," proclaimed the one page Tribune extra and the large signs and loudspeakers of a car doing the rounds today. At 1400, an excited Radio Tokyo voice announced a "big battle ... raging" east of Taiwan, and stay tuned for further "good news." Flash bulletins interrupted normal programs, and we were served excited comments by the Asahi; Mainichi (Ito, this morning); reports that German newspapers had splashed the news on their front pages, and that extras were issued in Java and Malaya. Throngs in Asia were described as "cheering" and "overjoyed." It was a fantastic and realistic effort too.

The gist of it all: The Japanese sank 17 aircraft carriers, one battleship, 2 cruisers, 1 destroyer and an unidentified warship. With a further 4 warships "probably sunk," and 27 other ships seriously damaged, the total reaches 53 vessels. As your wits rebel and your reason riots against all the ballyhoo, you can't help but conclude that this is either the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on mankind by a civilized nation, or the most important turnabout ever to have occurred in naval warfare.

The 1500 broadcast: "Enemy remnants are staggering in flight several hundred kilometers east of Taiwan" — demoralized and unable to put up any more interceptors against continuing Japanese attacks, dealing a "heavy blow" to the "so called 'Return to the Philippines' operation of MacArthur." But when everything was suggesting that this was something very big, and in the midst of building it up further, I picked up a sniff of uncertainty, as if the commentators were reluctant to complete the circle of collusion with the propaganda department and the airforce. If the Americans were so thoroughly beaten early on, how could they have raided Luzon the next day? The composition of the task force was off too: not enough destroyers. Then this: "While the victory is not of a decisive nature...."

On the pretext that it hadn't heard from all fleet units involved, the U.S remains silent about losses, admitting only that the Japanese have been attacking close enough for the fleet to use antiaircraft guns, so some planes must be getting through. Meanwhile, we have to contend with the massive propaganda effort here, including a second Tribune Extra and posters in the Heacock Building.

Last night PIAM said that the airdromes around Manila were the targets of yesterday's raids; tonight it forgot all about them and merely said: "The Americans bombed Filipino homes in Tondo and Caloocan."

The parachutist that landed at Pandacan was Japanese. He was clearly seen, helmet off and wounded, perhaps by the pot shots from his own countrymen. If he were American the Japanese would have told us about it already.