JAPAN'S OPPORTUNITY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 156, 1 July 1916, Page 15

JAPAN'S OPPORTUNITY.

BIG BOOU IN TEADE. Never irtvher history lias Japan met with saci a period of material prosperity as today. This Is entirely due to- the- war. The Entente Allies have been buytas gzeat quantities of war supplies siuce the beginning of the conflict, acd more orders are being placed constantly. Money i> literally pouring into the conntry In such <ioantltie3v that there is a-ctiMily a plethora of it. Honey has became so cheap thai bankers have began to compUJn. The first great call upoa JapaovJus been" made, and wJU contlime to be- made, by Kossia. The exports to Russia have tea-. Used several hundred million yen. They include not alone military equipment and' supplies, such, as gnus, rifles, and ammunition, but huge quantities of cloth, many thousands of pairs of boots, leather pooches, caps, sashes, food pxocui-ts, and medical supplies. Even rice is exported to Russia, to be made into gruel /or wounded soldiers, and of the medical exportation, a notable item is tincture of iodine. Ano.tb.tT great channel in whidh Japan is finding propsperity isthroagh her-shipping. Her biff merchant martpeds-notonly transporting supplies Sot the Eatente Powers, bat so far as the Orient is concerned, has practically taken over, at an immense profit, the sea transportation -which is held in time-of peace by vessels of Great Britain. Freight charges- to all points, including- the United States, have soared, and Japanese shipping companies have recently petitioned the Department of Communications to sanction a further increase in tariffs. The year 1915 was exceptional in Japanese trade, but this year is expected to prove ' stiU more remarkable. Last year the total exports amounted to abont fTCMWO.OOO. and the Imports to about £70,000,000. The total trade was £123,200,000. Compared with the preceding , year the flgur.es show an increase of about £11.000.000 on exports and a decrease of £6,300,000 on imports. Whereas in 1914 imports exceeded exports by £463,400. the balance of trade last year -was in favour of exports by about £16,500,0C0. Anything approaching snch a t large excess of exports ia unprecedented iv