Japan.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13679, 22 August 1908, Page 1 (Supplement)

Japan.

; ' BOMB MISCONCEPTIONS.. (British Trade Journal.). I So> many mfoccfntcptions .still prevail regiardinn jtlics difficulties; . ?iVid risks of trade- with Japan that il'liaa become necessary Ito \daco the true> " t ).u S itiim of affairs prominently bctate < business community. . Humour ■ has 'been especially busy ! durkig the \)a-sb, year, and readers of Engj lish and Aniccit.au news papers have been <i V scared " again and. : again. by sensational accounts of Japan's financial diflicult.icii which, vuriously enough, have been followed the next . day by reports of vast puSHtifcal ambitions and schemes in. Chum audj in the' Pacific,' projects -which roidd never by any possibility be realised by a 'country financially unsound. Then it. "was ( anuacaced that the-principle of the "open [door" was being- viola, ed in Manchuria, I and that; Japan was interfering with the 4 construction of railways there, while in | Japan Iho trado^uark. of foreign firms were I being openly iofringed in a must ccaudal-J-bws ntunncr. "Theau 'allegations it i» now | found werei "based upon.particulars 'which lili thenrielVes we're far from correct, and the* couchiiious drawn- from them have, been sho/wn to bo without foundation by tru&t-wafUiy observers. The' "Yellow peri],* scare, was cleared away -by the gjdtl-huuioured banter of Viscount Kaiieko Sfc the recent annual dinner of the Yokohama Toreign Boaftl of Trade. Japan, he sai,d, bad- a " While .peril" for two hundred and fifty years, aud her people ; irere frightened. Now the. Japanese look- ! Ed back and studied the history of Europe and • Amerlvsa, and they saw tliat -the "White, peril wwi merely Imagination." They touud that ffiieir feais.were visionary and. sometimes they laughed over it us 9 t -tale of hie "Arabian Nights." So, tco, fill the talk about a "Yellow peril" was ' a misunderstanding and a misrepresentation. Japan, itseems to be forgotten, is busily preparing' for licr Grand Exhibitwh: «f ,1912, and, ; as Chief Conimiiiiiionsr of that Kaneko pointed out' that on the occasion referred to that many foreign nations had already sent 'their'acceptances* and every preparation was being iuudeto.welcome foreigners and let them see on the spot what Japan was doing. ; Japan was not preparing for war; she- was pimply. making' preparations for a peaceful work by an exhibition to increase, trade, with . foreign countries and to interchange ideas with different nations and races. ; Th-s question of pa'terjt rights, and ..trade-marks wars much talked about in Europe and America, and there was ecine,.fear .that when foreign goods we're sent to the Exhibition they would be copied and the trade-marks; stolen by Japauesei Japan had therefore parsed a'sj>ecial law on the matter, which 'lad bee promulgated '. only a few dayc, ago. Patents and '* trade-marks. would be treated! 'tinder the treaty for the'protection of industrial property. Inventions exhibited, even if nest patented,'-could' be rendered' secure simply by applying to the Japanese Government' for registration. The very exhibition/of the. good-i would then give the full' title and privilege. The general question of trade-marks ii> being constantly, brought forward' to discredit' Japanese methods, yet it seems, that in >cno respect Western nations' may learn from Japan how trade-mark infringements can be; dealt with. It appears that' the popularity of- English made cycles is so grwit in! tire Nagoya district that some iiriserupulous persons .imitated the English trade-mark,' and attached it -to' other 'cycles. The agent of the English cycles, discovering this, communicated with the proper authorities, with the-result that within two days 'tweuty-six!.of-the offenders were, arrested }>y the poliec and summarily punished. Japan, .riuaupially, huis. during the-past few months passijil/• through • a ■ crisis; money had been':scarce ; imports have been too niueh>in'excess of export .values;, and there has-been uncertainly- to the. manner in.■which'.the heavy.,•loans -incurred „ ed; : *he fiiiatieial'.position; in -Europe and in'/'the- United States .reacted, -upon the -Japanese .money uiarket, of interest hare been in force higher, than any anticipated when the loans were., ir.isued. ;• hence the impossibility of carrying- out ' uojrfersiaiif schemes. Thb. petition was fully dealt with by Marquis Matsugata, ex-Minister of State for Finance, in a recent speech at Osaka, before a meeting of 'bankem from various parts of the country. He strongly'urged the necessity, of stimulating hidm'trics and agri; culture in order to improve, the.',expert trade, and, that [this' may be accomplished, advised the payment of drawn bonds in; cash that the holders might employ'the money immediately in business. , "Europe -must therefore expect more' and more competition from Japan in the Chinese aud ! other markets; the industry and enterprise of her people are now- being ,pu>b' to the test in the field of commerce; and the same qualities of mind and'character which served so well during the Avar may be relied upon to ensure Japan's success in manufacturing- and niereliahtiug. All this muat inevitably lead t» increas>ed competition with Western nations,; but it wiH also cause a. renewed d«maud for many classes of machinery and for parUy manufactured goods ; and ■ as priciis rise and' the standard of living in Japan approximates more and more to Western ideas the severity: of the competition, .which, under 0-iiy ~ circumstances, is inevitable, . will be materially reduced. ■'•• Japan's-actipn in Manchuria is defended: in a letter, published-a'few. days, ago, from the \Tokyo .correapondeut . ;of the Tihiets. The Japanese,'' : he writes, ar« perplexed to.undeiwtaud m what their offence coiisists., " They" loyally evacuated Manchuria and restored it'W China-, Svho. bu't for their armed .intervention, must have ••■ permanently lost the three. provinces. They threw, open Dalny to.'foreign trij.de, and agreed to the'(stablislhnent of a. Chinese customs house there; : thus conferring a great : advantage, on the 'fade of Ku?sia, which, for several' uiontlis,• continued .to send her merchandise duly'free'across the northern frontier. They rectified the differential rates imposed under the Kussiau regimen with the--intention of developing Dalny at Newcliwaiig's "expense.: They -held China to her-promise as to opening new marts in. : .Mancliuria: In."slier 1,1 they honestly endeavoured to keep the door fully open arid until soiuo specific iustiuiteof r violating that pojicy can be adduced against them, • they. Hot; uiireasdnablj" ask to bB judged by established, factiii; not by vague g.enerahsaticn!<.": The - corrcepondent believes that, apart, .perhaps, from a few administrative mistakes, the Japanfee have honestly to fulfill their promises, in Manchuria, iintl it is significant it-hat recent reports from, the United ."States .and " Shanghai h'aye had less of the vagiie complaints or apprehensions of Japanese 'goods' being admitted free while other..'traders.'had to.pay. As to.ij.ho quEiitiou of -imitating aiid.infriugiug trade-maiks, the "cprresporident poipts' put -that the trade-mark; law-of .Jiipau si'iraiiied after the Eiuppeau models, ';but differs from the law of England,. 7 inasmuch as .the .former rec'ogniees the-principle'of .priority of use. A cursory observer' might. therefore make the mistake of' inferring that ..the " incre registration.,'of-foreign., trademarks by aJapaiicSeJ in Japan confers a title ,lo'pirate" it withyimpunity.. But such is by, HO'ineani3.lhe- r case. "~ the Japa'neio law provides •" .that \ii<> 'tradMuark 'wliich' was in'iistJ'prior'to'the date of the law's' - enforcement, •'■and , -<wUicli- ! continues 'to i I>e' in 'tuiie:, ■ eiin r bo-.registered' in' favour of iahy-'person'Ot'lier-'thahi it's original _own.er,t whether 1 tho'.lutter:has:or, nbt~reg;Hter-•ed;'iu-Japan,,■. and-that;' regietfatioh.'shall be' lefu'sedvlo"all•trade-marks-,'.calculated' to ,: deqeive Jor- to -wk>rk .' fraud - oipOff' tlie , .public. -It'.is,' of-'coui>:e,'-po)isiblethat registration Verror- -to some- other-than- tho> 'original :: owner, but, in' that .even)therlatter -can obtain eancellation'.if: - ho '.applies-.within'.tlio space ' ' of years."'T > lainly> "tWreforrf, .any foieigner ■* may, Becuro 1 .-- hifs trade-ijjjrk -againsttfrauduleijtjj' imitation:-if:he adopts the simple'expedient'of'registenug-it.-'; -