GROWTH OF JAPAN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22071, 29 March 1935, Page 14

GROWTH OF JAPAN

EXPANSION TOWAED SOUTH problem for dominions SAFETY WITHIN EMPIRE Striking reference to the pressing problems of Japan, especially as tliey may affect Australia and New Zealand, was made by Sir Hugh Denison yesterday in an address to a luncheon gathering organised by the local branch of the Royal Empire Society. "Wo have got to look at Japan very closely," he said, "to see tho reasons for her apparent curious attitude in withdrawing from the League of Nations and certain other steps she has taken." From about 1870, when she began to come into contact with the Western world, Sir Hugh said, Japan began to grow in population, until in the next 40 years «ihe had doubled her population, a thing that had never been done in any other nation in tho world. Her population to-day was increasing at the rate of 1,000,000 every year. ■She owned three small islands, less considerably in size than Great Britain and Ireland, with a population more than 50 per cent greater, and the coun|try very poor. : Their national faith in the sanctity jof tho family and their worship of ■ancestors - would riot let the Japanese J practise birth control or any limitation of family 1 . The Japanese desired to .live; and he had great faith in liim- ■ self. His statesmen were faced with ,the position that the people must get out. Every 4 nation had stopped them ' and refused them admission. Seizure 01 Manchukuo i, The spokesman of tho Japanese i Foreign Office had recently said plainly i that they had taken and opened up Manchukuo because they needed it for ! their people, and because all other couni tries were closed to them. They needed tho resources that that country could give them in the way of food and other products. They had so little farming i country that they had' to import food, : and they had decided to become an industrial nation. During the last seven or eight years Japan had industrialised i helrself, and become a tremendous menace to the .other manufacturing countries of the world. Tho spokesman said straight out that if they could not get countries to admit the Japanese manufactures, which were the only means by which Japanese citizens could live, they would have to go further afield in providing an outlet for their people and their manufactures. , "Great Britain and its dependencies to-day," continued Sir Hugh, "occupy practically the only sections of tho world in which any expansion by a nation of that kind can be made. I think the solution of that is obvious to you all. If Japan continues to increase, however peaceful her methods are —and I am satisfied that certainly she does not want to quarrel with Britain —but if the pressure of circumstances continues to increase Japan must go somewhere, and her ultimate design in such a case will be south. Now, what are we gojng to do?" Protection Irom Britain Sir Hugh pointed out that we had the British Navy and the strong British Empire, the finest thing we could have, not only for protection of our trade, but for the building of wealth and future activities. The strength of the Empire could be maintained only by whole-hearted co-operation between the Old Country and the~" Dominions. Britain had been facing a very hard time, and the improvement that had lately come had been almost entirely domestic. She must look for development -within the confines of her own empire very largely, and the Dominions could help if they would "buy British" wherever possible. To-day Britain stood as she had never stood in tho world before, as the one nation that had kept her head and in spite of everything had done her best to promote peace throughout the world. The Royal Empire Society was tho oldest and largest patriotic Bociety in the Empire, and it was concerned with educating its members, and the people of the Empire. It was with great pleasure that Sir Hugh had learned that Auckland had recently secured sufficient members to constitute a branch. If they in Auckland decided that they could come together in some central building with other patriotic societies, where they could come to agreement, he would be personally very happy to make a quite ' material contribution toward that end, and he made tho same offer to other centres.

The chairman, Professor F. P. Worlev, in returning thanks to Sir Hugh for his address, expressed their gratitude for his magnificent offer, which, he said, would be of the greatest importance to the society in Now Zealand