TRADE WITH JAPAN

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 107, 2 November 1933, Page 12

TRADE WITH JAPAN

ROOM FOR BIG INCREASE

INTERVIEW WITH VISITOR

(Special to the "Evening Post.") CHEISTCHUECH, November 1. That it would be in ,th» interests o^ New Zealand to, foster trade with! Japan rather than to place restrictive duties on Japanese exports was an opinion expressed by Mr. S. Okam6to,| a representative"; of "the .Bridgestona Tire Manufacturing Company, Kurume,j one of the. largest rubber firms iai Japan, in an interview.; Mr. Okamoto said that Japan, with, its large population, was already an. important' market for New Zealand produce, and it would become increase ingly important to the producers of the Dominion, provided that the; Japanese Government was not forced into thaj adoption of retaliatory tariffs. \ "I think there is room for a consider* able increase in New Zealand's exports to Japan," said Mr. Okamoto. "Japan; has, a very big demand for wool, but* ter,( cheese, and flax. It is often for* gotten by the European countries that the Japanese require and use just as much wool as any other country. Th« climate is very similar to that of New; Zealand, and there are the same re* quirements there for woollen clothing; and blankets.; Moreover, there -arai very many factories in Japan that Send) woollen products to various parts of th« world." Mr. Okamoto said that -the', sources) of Japan's wool supplies were Aus* tralia, South America,. South Africa^ and London, as well as New Zealand. The buying now, however, was mainly] in Australia and New Zealand. He> said that some 6000 tons of butter and! cheese, were consumed by Japan eaehj year, and of this, about 4000 tons camtf from Australia and .New Zealand. .. Mr. Okamoto laughed when the r» porter mentioned the various sensa« tional statements that have beeai made lately about Japan's ambitions! in the Pacific. He said that it was; quite impossible that Japan could con* stitute a threat to any of the coun* tries in the Pacific, let alone to thos«| in the more remote parts of the occam "This talk about the pressure ofl population, in Japan is very much.' exaggerated," he said. ■ "In the firsti place Japan is an industrial country* and provided she can find the markets) for her produce can support a large) population. Although have an un« employment problem,- it is not, really serious, and the number of the work* less appears to be decreasing steadily.'* The object of Japan's activities ia Manchuria was the establishment of a stable government there, for Man*, churia, with its population of 3,000,000^ presented a very desirable market for Japanese goods. Settled political and! economic conditions, however, ' wer^ essential to successful trade relations.