REBUILDING JAPAN.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 211, 5 September 1924, Page 8

REBUILDING JAPAN.

PEOPLE'S MARVELLOUS PROGRESS. I C THEY DO NOT LOSE HEART.'' j The manner iv which those sturdy, courageous little people the Japanese have set to work to rebuild their cities which were wrecked by the appalling earthquake, fire, and tidal wave at about this time' last year, will always be regarded with a feeling of admiration by all nations, whatever their prejudices may be. The marvellous results already obtained after a year's tireless work were illustrated very vividly this morning by Mr. Y. Ito, a business man of Sydney, who, in company with Mr. K. Uyeda, is at present in Auckland. Interviewed, Mr. Ito said that although he had not been in Japan since the calamity, he had been kept well posted with news from his friends who were taking part in the work of rebuilding the devastated country. "The results achieved so far have been wonderful," he said. "Tokyo, for instance, has improved greatly. It is being re-built in semi-permanent material. The whole ot the main street is now practically as it was before the earthquake. Places like Ginza, the main shopping centre of Tokyo, look almost as pretty as they did previously, but it is all a temporary construction. The Government is preparing a plan of a new city. That is not yet ready, and permanent rebuilding will not commence until the plans are finished. "Yokohama is a little bit different to Tokyo," continued Mr. Ito. "The reconstruction of that city is much slower, but the harbour is almost completely remodelled, and in consequence very few inconveniences confront the shipping activities. Another important port of Japan is Kobe, and that port took most of the shipping from Yokohama immediately after the earthquake. Somo people thought that as Kobe was then tho chief shipping centre it would retain that position, and that Yokohama would lose its place, but I do not think so. There is no doubt that Yokohama will be one of the main ports, just as it was before. Kobe is mostly an import, and Yokohama an export centre." Continuing, Mr. Ito said that many of the inhabitants who fled from Tokyo arid Yokohama at the time of the tragedy were now flocking back to take part in the great work of setting up their towns again. "I have little doubt that the cities will soon be as largely inhabited as they were before. They don't lose heart, these Japanese people. They are used to hardships, and every difficulty that comes their way gives them a .little more courage." Questioned regarding the Socialistic trouble in Japan, Mr. Ito said that the clement in his country was very small—hardly worth considering. "What small clement there is is well under the control of the Government," he said. "Before coming to New Zealand I heard a. lot of Japanese say that when they were in this country they had rather nasty experiences—that they were looked down upon and insulted," concluded Mr. Ito. "I want to say that I have found the people here most hospitable, courteous, and obliging, And. I am sure that what we heard from others must have been founded on misunder- .. _* '