THE PHILIPPINES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 105, 6 May 1939, Page 8

THE PHILIPPINES.

JAPANESE PENETRATION. (By ERNEST O. HAUSER.) MANILA. In the shadow of Japan's armed expansion to the south, Japanese penetration of tlie Philippine Islands is proceeding at an accelerated pace. Already, as the result of an ablv conducted commercial campaign, Japan has gained a strong foothold in the archipelago. In the Philippines foreign trade she ranks second after the United States. In the Philippines retail trade, the Japanese share is growing every day. A large proportion of the Philippines hemp production is already in Japanese hands. Six Japanese shipping lines, equipped with speedy, up-to-date ships, maintain a regular service between the islands and the Empire of the Rising Sun. The Filipinos, as most peoples of the Malay race, have no flair for business. Due to their complete lack of business sense, trading had early become a. foreign monopoly in the islands. Chinese merchants from the nearby port cities of China filtered into the archipelago before and during the Spanish domination, and retail trade was virtually a Chinese monopoly at the l>eginning of this century. Japan's rapid commercial expansion after the war and her capacity to produce cheaply resulted in an influx if Japanese commodities, while the stores themselves remained largely Chinese. The Manchurian war of 10.'il-.T2, which caused an effective Chinese boycott of Japanese goods, opened the first breach for the Japanese. With patriotic Chinese merchants refusing to supply Japanese goods to the Filipino people, the Japanese moved in and ojieiied their own stores. Subsequent boycotts have strengthened their position. By now, Japanese stores handle approximately one-third of the total retail business of the islands. Machinery of Penetration. But it is not this formidable encroachment on the retail trade alone which lias created a Japanese problem here. The Japanese have rolled in with their whole economic machinery, which, like a heavy tank, threatens to crush everything standing in its way. Japanese retail traders have teamed up with Japanese importers, shippers and bankers. Japanese commodities are shipped to Philippine ports in Japanese ships, and Japanese underwriters and bankers take care of the financial end of the transactions, and with the Yokohama Specie Bank in the lead, this powerful commercial organisation enjoys the blessing of official Japan. The Tokyo municipality lias opened a sample room on the Escnltn. Manilas main thoroughfare: Japanese products and catalogues are displayed for the benefit of local dealers there. Besides. Coverniiiont subsidies are given to Japanese importers. In one case .">OOO yen were 'riven to an importer of Japanese bicycles a few years ago. Ihe lieneficiarv of this snlisidv now operates his own bicvele factory in the islands. To meet the competition of a local brewery, the Mitsui Company, which hitherto imported it* beer into the inlands, has now opened its own model hrcwerv in a Manila suburb. Another field of activities successfully invaded by the Japanese is the lishing industry. The Davao Settlement. The crux of the whole situation, however, is the Japanese settlement, in Davao. 011 the southern island of Mindanao. The quiet establishment of a regular Japanese State there is causing alarm. Some :>O,OOO Japanese are living in Davao Province now. and they have created a well-organised little world of their own out of tropical wilderness and jungle. An area of more than 100.000 acres is cultivated by them, the main product being hemp. The total Japanese investment in this industry is estimated at £">,400.000. With the economic life of Davao entirely in Japanese hands, the province is virtually dominated by the Japanese, who can direct their 50.000 Filipino workers "ill id the;r dependents to vote in a solid block. Davao City, for all practical purposes, has become a Japanese port. There is a large number of Japanese schools and other public institutions. While there are about 100 miles of Covernmeut roads in the province. the .laoane-e control a network of more than 2->0 miles of privately built and owned roads. The case of Davao -hows C'at Jauanese settlers and merchants in the Philippines do not want to be ab-orbed, as the Chinese were absorbed, by the Filipino community. They consider themselves a* an outpost of the Japanese Empire. Japanese young men from the Philippines have been cal'ed to the colours and are now lighting in ( liina. The Philippine (iovernment. although aware of the danger of the situation, has not yet taken active steps to stem the tide of Japanese penetration. Administrative measures, such as the closing of the port of Davao to foreign shipping, are under consideration. A bill restricting foreign immigration and imposing a quota system has been submitted to the Philippine Legislature and may be passed in the near future. There is. however, a marked reluctance to offend Japan as long as the political situation of the Philippines remains an unsettled question. Many Filipinos feel that an independent Philippines may have to lean heavily oil its powerful neighbour to the north, and hence reserve judgment until independence takes effect or is postponed. — (Copyright: X.A.N.A.)