Shipping Lack Makes For Jap. Desperation

Northern Advocate, 26 April 1944, Page 6

Shipping Lack Makes For Jap. Desperation

(Spec.) LONDON, This Day. “Japan today is importing less from her conquered territories in the Pacific than she was doing a year ago.” reports "The Observer's” diplomatic correspondent. "Her shipping situation new is desperate and although she has access to an abundance of raw materials and food reserves, she cannot transport them to Japan. A great drive has been undertaken to carry more of her essential home traffic by road and rail to release shipping for overseas transport. “New roads are being built and existing ones improved to handle what ear not be moved by the railway. This is the most significant revelation to date of the acuteness of Japan’s shipping problem." T„he correspondent adds that Allied naval and air operations are estimated to have reduced Japanese shipping from a pre-war total of 7.500,000 gross tons to about 5.000,000 gross tons, excluding oil-tankers, but the shortage of this type of vessel has become so acute that Japan is now converting

some of her best freighters into tankers. It at present is estimated that Japan is devoting at least 3,500,000 tons of her shipping to supplying and reinforcing military forces overseas, leaving only 1.500,000 for exploiting her conquests. On admissions of the Japanese Press and radio, goods destined for Japan have been piling up in the southern regions ot the newly-won empire at a rale ot millions of tons annually. She lias now adopted a short-term- policy of maintaining over-ambitious military commitment rather than using merchant shipping to import materials for buiiding up her war potential. It is cver-late for her to switch to longterm policy, even if she were able to do so.