THE COLONIST. THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 1916. JAPAN'S TRADE BOOM.

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 13995, 27 January 1916, Page 4

THE COLONIST. THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 1916. JAPAN'S TRADE BOOM.

We have received from the publishers at Tokio a copy of the excellent commercial supplement of the "Japan Times," in which the effect of the wax upon the trade and industry of our Eastern ally is exhaustively reviewed, with especial reference to commodities which lend themselves to the promotion of trade with Australasia. As a record of progress and enterprise in the utilisation of the vast resources of Japan, the publication is in the nature of a revelation even to those who are not altbgether unfamiliar with the remarkable growth of Japanese trade and industry1 in recent years. The range and variety, not less than the value of the manufactures, command attention. The effects of the war as far as Japan is concerned have been entirely beneficial. The European struggle and the consequent demand for commodities, apart from munitions, which she is in a favourable position to supply, has lent an immense fillip to her manufactures, and her exports for 1914 show a phenomenal rise. Japanese products which before were not in great demand now occupy a prominent place in her export trade, among them being fertilisers, rubber goods, aluminium ware, antimony, and electrical supplies. From the beginning of 1914 up to September the value of exports amounted to 495,235,859 yen, the figures shoMng an increase of 40,665,088 yen as compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. (The yen is equivalent to 2s OJ-d in English money.) It is noticeable that the excess of exports over imports amounted to 84,448,238 yen in spite of the fact that the export of raw silk showed, a decrease of 31,103,437 yen, compared with 1913, and a decrease of coal 5,187,668 yen. Rubber articles, which have hitherto not been exported abroad, were last ■y^ar shipped in large quantities. The export of rubber tyres mounted from 694,018 yen in 1913 to -2,445,914 yen '"'last .year. ■ Artificial fertilisers rose from 6740 yen to 331,116 yen. Copper goods, which were exported to the value of. 19,594,454 yen in 1913, reached the huge total of 34,178,392 yen last year. More remarkable expansion still was shown in the case of woollen cloth, ex-! ports of which increased in value from 87,895 yen in 1913 to 15,010,424 yen last year. Shoes rose from 86,778 yen in 1913 to nearly six million yen, and there were extraordinary increases in the exports of red tea, matches, and aluminium ware. Gold and silver mines hav«j been particularly benefited by the war, the yield showing an increase of 24 per cent. Tho production of other metals has advanced similarly. A boom in the canning trade is commented tipon by the review, and it is stated that tinned fish of several varieties, including sardines, is in strong demand. The prospects of the Japanese sugar refining industry are promising,. and with the signing of a new convention j for the ■ disposal ..of new sugar, negotiations for export are in progress everywhere. The first deal reported is for a supply of 11,000 tons to Australia. The Japanese Government is determined to maintain the established standard of shipping subsidies, and all concerned wero notified last month that mail contracts with shipping companies for the European service with Antwerp as its terminus, the Puget Sound, San Fran, cisco, South American, and Melbourne services, tfhich were about to expire, would be renewed on the old basis for another five years.