TRADE WITH JAPAN

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 33, 2 November 1933, Page 10

TRADE WITH JAPAN

Better Relations Urged

VIEWS OF VISITOR

Dominion Special Service.

Christchurch, November 1.

That it would be In the interests of New Zealand to foster trade with Japan rather than to place restrictive duties on Japanese exports was an opinion expressed by Mr. S. Okamoto, a representative of the Bridgestone Tyre Manufacturing Company, Kurume, Japan, one of the largest rubber firms in the country, in a_n interview. Mr. Okamoto said that Japan, with its large population, was already an important market for New Zealand produce, and it would become increasingly important to the producers of the Dominion, provided that the Japanese Government was not forced into the adoption of retaliatory tariffs. "I think there’ is room for a considerable increase in New Zealand’s exports to Japan,” said Mr. Okamoto. "Japan has a very big demand for wool, butte p, cheese, and flax. It is often forgotten by the European countries that the Japanese require' and use just as much wool as any other country. The climate is very similar to that of New Zealand, and there are tlie same requirements there for woollen clothing and blankets. Moreover, there are very many factories in Japan t|iat send woollen products to various parts of the world.” Mr. Okamoto said that the sources of Japan’s wool supplies were Australia. South America. South Africa, and London, as well as New Zealand. o,’he buying now, however, was mainly in Australia and New Zealand. Ale said that some 6000 tons of butter and cheese were consumed by Japan each year, and of this about 4000 tons came from Australia and New Zealand. Mr. Okamoto laughed when the reporter mentioned the various sensational statements that have been made lately about Japan’s ambitions in the Pacific. He said that it was quite impossible that Japan could constitute a threat to any of the countries in the Pacific, let alone to those in the more remote parts of the ocean. "This talk about the pressure of population in Japan is very much exaggerated,” he said. “In the first place Japan is an industrial country, and provided she can find the markets for her produce can support a large population. Although we have an unemployment problem, it is not really serious, and the number of the workless appears to be decreasing steadily.”

The object of Japan’s activities in Manchuria .was the establishment of a stable government there, for Manchuria, with its population of 3,000,000, presented a very desirable market for Japanese goods. Settled political and economic conditions, however, were essential to successful trade relations.