JAPAN'S INTENSE ACTIVITY

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21281, 28 September 1934, Page 22

JAPAN'S INTENSE ACTIVITY

EMPLOYED FOR LONG HOURS

A NATIONALISTIC COUNTRY

"Japan is not an idyllic land of cherry blossom. It is an immense industrial beehive. Everyone in Japan is active, and everyone seems to work not only all day, but some of the night as well." In these words, Mr A. M. Satterthwaite, of Christchurch, "who returned yesterday morning from a trip to Japan and the United States, summed up his impressions of Japan. The country was intensely active, he said, and throughout his stay there he did not see anyone lounging about with nothing to do, like the many thousands he had seen in the United States. Mr Satterthwaite saw a number of Japanese factories, and found that some of the bigger ones not only employed their workpeople during the day, but also provided them with food and shelter. The wages paid were extremely low, and a proportion was deducted for the maintenance of the employees. The shops of Japan stayed open till very late at night, and as there was no Sunday, they were doing business every day of the year. It was a common sight to see artisans working at such trades as bricklaying and at manufactures of different types right into the night. A great deal of transport was done with human beings as the motive power, and the carriers were commonly to be seen doing their •work at night. Standard of Living The standard of living that we knew in New Zealand simply did not exist in Japan. The basic food of the artisan was rice, dried fish, green tea, and soya bean, and this was an unvarying . diet year in, year out. In Tokyo, a city of five millions, covering an area about equal to that from Christchurch to Rangiora, had roughly the same number of places of amusements as had Christchurch. The masses could not afford amusements of the sort that most people in New Zealand were able to enjoy. Japan was intensely nationalistic, said Mr Satterthwaite. Every Japanese was working hard in preparation for the "day of crisis." It was not definitely stated what this crisis would be, but the whole nation was pulling together toward the one end. One of the greatest problems of the country was that while the present strenuous activity to produce continued, there was not enough raw material procurable in the country, and though an enormous export trade had been built up, the balance of trade was heavily against Japan. The efficiency of all the social services of Japan impressed Mr Satterthwaite profoundly. Every public utility was organised to the highest pitch, and it appeared that nothing at all had been left to chance. The trains were extremely efficient, and were always within seconds of their advertised times of arrival and departure. The Woollen Trade ' Manchukuo offered Japan great opportunities for acquiring raw materials, and the Japanese were developing the country and importing sheep and cattle. There was every indication that Japan would shortly enter the woollen trade with the same enthusiasm that she had already entered the cotton trade. Whatever the effect of this might be on the world, it was certain that Japan would be a great and growing consumer of wool. Mr Satterthwaite was definite that there could never be a satisfactory trade with New Zealand in butter and cheese, but said that in certain other lines a trade could be worked up if certain barriers could be removed. Mainly because of labour considerations, Japan was intensely antagonistic to communism. When a foreigner landed, his baggage was carefully searched, he was closely questioned, and all the books in his possession had to be produced for the scrutiny of the authorities. An Unsettled Country Mr Satterthwaite also visited Northern China, spending some time at Shanghai. Owing to the unsettled state of the country outside, many wealthy Chinese had come into the international settlement, and Shanghai itself was a very wealthy city. Away from Shanghai the standard of living was among the lowest in the world, There were no roads 40 miles beyond the city, but there were some railways. The noise in the city was beyond description. At nearly every third shop there were stationed orchestras or big gramophones which made all the noise they could to attract customers. So unsettled was the political position that all ships plying between Shanghai and Hong Kong carried an armed guard of European soldiers. The Government of northern China at Nanking was trying to clean the country up, and was also interesting itself in establishing factories, many of them with foreign capital. Japan was interestmg herself in China to a greater extent than ever before.