GREETINGS FROM JAPAN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22654, 20 August 1935, Page 8

GREETINGS FROM JAPAN

Dr Kenichi Abb, leader of the party of eight Japanese industrialists which spent a week in the North Island in May of this year, said at the time that he and his colleagues had come in the hope of paving the way to a better understanding, by the Japanese people, of New Zealand and its people. The arrival in the Dominion yesterday of another Japanese mission, this time political in nature, indicates clearly that the- Japanese Government attaches great importance to the need for fostering the friendship that exists between the principal Pacific countries and also to the desirability of extending, as may be mutually advantageous, existing trade relationships between Japan and her British neighbours. It is certain, however, that no matter what the main purpose of the visit of Mr Katsuji Debuchi and his associates from the Japanese Foreign Office may be —whether it is confined to the formal conveyance of friendly greetings or is enlarged to include discussions on broader questions of policy—the mission is assured of a warm welcome from the Government and the people of this Dominion. The services given by Japan to the Allied cause during the .Great War are not forgotten, nor is t'here any inclination nowadays to deny the importance of the place occupied by her amongst the great trading nations of the world. The spectacular rise of Japan as an industrial Power has, it is true, been watched with a certain amount of misgiving on the part of other manufacturing countries into whose markets she has secured entrance. Nevertheless it has to be remembered that, as Japan is a small country and the home of a virile and industrious people, circumstances are compelling her to follow destiny along the path of industrial expansion. It can be assumed that the opportunity presented by the presence of the mission in New Zealand for exploring new avenues of reciprocal trade will not be neglected. In the direction of finding new markets for her chief exports, New Zealand is just as deeply interested in trade expansion as is Japan, and while we are turning our eyes to the East the possibility of inducing Japan to buy more from us than she does at present cannot bo overlooked. Those considerations, however, are likely to be ranked second in importance to the main object of the mission, which, in Mr Debuchi’s own words, is to ensure the continuance of friendly co-operation between the two countries. The Ambassador speaks oi “ the fraternity of the > peoples of the Pacific.” That is taking the long-sighted and realistic view of the “new Pacific era.” Much must depend on the strengthening of international friendships, for it is only as good neighbours that countries can properly appreciate each other’s ideals and aspirations.