POOR BUT STRONG

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 961, 31 October 1910, Page 6

POOR BUT STRONG

Very mixed views are held concerning the prosperity and financial condition of Japan. Most people who have given any attention to the subject know that the country is weighed down with an enormous national debt. Her internal debt in .9-9 totalled o.er £k0,00.,0j0, and her foreign debt was slightly more. Her revenue in 1907-8 was approximately £85,000,000, in 1908-9 £79,'000,000, 'in 1909-10 £51,000,000, "and for 1910-11 was'estimated at £53,,000,000. Excepting in 1907-8 and the. following year, when there were substantial surpluses, the expenditure was about equal to the revenue in the years' quoted. So mveh may be learned' from any reference books relating to Japan. But. the condition ol the country generally and of its pcpple is not so easily ascertained. The. subject is one of special interest to those people who .live, in fear of the imaginary-, or rea,l ambitions of Japan, and'particularly to those, who labour under the belief that the under-populated state of. Australia and. even New Zealand - holds out temptation, to our enterprising ally. Judging from investigations made by Professor; Kambe, of Kioto I'm-,, pcrial University, Japan is an even poorer country than is generally recognised—indeed, he. shows her to be quite the poorest of the great world Powers. . As a proof of this may . be quoted the table given below. , Assuming that 100 yen'(about £20) represents the total wealth of Japan, it compares as under with the wealth ,of the other countries named: ' . . ; .

Amount of. ' Country. ! National wealth. . Japan ............. '100 yen , Italy.. • 299 „ Austria , ...'. 384. ~ ,'./ Russia ~ 551 „ . ■ Germany - 683 „ . .France 743 „ . . Great Britain 1008 United States'. •1.......'.;:......' ,1397: Japan's national debt . is' ' proportionately heavier than that of;' any of ■ -the " above coun-, ; 'tries. It is equal to a little more than-one-fifth of her national wealth.. Italy,, tho. next poorest, has a debt 1 equal .to: about .one-sixth' of her national wealth; Russia, and France, less than one-seventh; Germany, onetenth;. Austria and Great Britain, one:fourteenth;and the United States, one-hundredth. Viewing the position from the average income per head of population does not im- ; prove matters so : far as Japan i s concerned, the following being the result of a comparison on the basis that the average income of ■ ;the Japanese is 10 yen . ■ . : ' Average per Country., capita income. Japan :. :10 yen : Italy 23 „ Austria- ... 28 Germany 41 „ . ■ France-. 53 Great Britain ,i. : 60 „ United States 73 Finally, Japan is much the heaviest, taxed country. :■ While there is much to hope for by the Japanese in the way of economic, development, '.the, country's, great strength really lies in'the attitude of.its people towards, national interests. ' Thiß ■ was. very convincingly demonstrated, during tho Itusso-Japanese war, and 1 shows the real strength of ' Japan, despite her comparatively impecunious condition. The patriotism and public spirit "which enables his countrymen cheerfully to sacrifice , every- comfort for the sake of the State whenever an emergency arises affords , consolation to Professor Kambe, even, in face of/the disclosures revealed by his economic researches, and leave's him far from" disheartened as to the outlook for the future of his'country. '" ■ ' :