LAND NOT WANTED.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20233, 17 February 1934, Page 9

LAND NOT WANTED.

Japanese Will Not Settle Overseas. OUTLET IN INDUSTRY. Japan does not want overseas territory for her rapidly-increasing population, because Japanese emigrants, unlike the Chinese, will almost invariably return to their own country in course of time. Japan is seeking accommodation for her millions by their absorption in industry, and every effort is being made to build up the nation’s industrial life. She wants raw material from Australia and New Zealand, and lin return wishes these countries to I take her manufactured goods. Because of her having no desire for so-called horizontal expansion she does not want war, but trade, and would appreciate the visit of any trade delegation from New Zealand. This outline of Japan’s outlook and | activities was given to-day by Mr O. Ivawamura, of Sydney, who is Aus- ; tralian and New Zealand manager for thirteen Japanese trading companies ! with an aggregate capital of about | £48,000,000. Mr Kawamura is paying a short visit to New Zealand with a | view to opening up trade in the l future. He is manager of the Mitsubishi en- | terprises, which have world-wide con--1 nections in almost every important branch of trade. The president and owner of the concerns is Baron Koyata Iwasaki, of Japan. The main holding company has a capital of 120,000.000 yen (about £12,000,000), and controls the following activities:—Shipbuilding and engineering, 50,000,000 yen; iron and steel, 25,000,000 yen; warehouse, 10,000,000 yen; trading, 15,000,000 yen; mining 100,000,000 yen; marine and fire insurance, 5,000,000 yen; banking, 100,000,000 yen; aircraft manufacturing, 5.000,000 yen; electrical engineering, ! 15,000,000 yen; trust company, 30,000,000 yen; oil, 15,000,000 yen; paper manufacturing, 10,000,000 yen. The total capital of combined concerns is 485,000,000 yen, or about £48,500,000. Conference with Prime Minister. Mr Kawamura will leave Christchurch on Tuesday for Dunedin, and will have an interview with the Minister of Industries and Commerce (the Hon R. Masters). He had a long conference with the Prime Minister (the Right Hon G. W. Forbes) and the secretary of the Department of Industries and Commerce (Mr G. W. Clinkard). He told Mr Forbes that up to the present New Zealand had apparently been quite satisfied to trade almost entirely with the United Kingdom, but he believed that the Dominion should have a free hand in marketing her products in any part of the world. He was sure that good trading would result from a visit to Japan by a New Zealand delegation, something on the lines of the good will mission organised in Australia. The building up of industry was most urgent for Japan, stated Mr Kawamura to-day. The population was increasing at the rate of 1,000,000 a year. Japanese sentiment was against settling down in foreign countties, and those emigrants who went to Brazil or Argentina invariably returned after a period. Territorial or horizontal expansion was useless for Japan, and the only outlet was vertical expansion through the development of industry. The country started as an agricultural one with the growing of rice and wheat, but in time those agricultural areas would gradually be occupied by secondary industries, with a consequently denser population. Japan was aiming to turn out the manufactured article, and wanted raw materials from other countries. There was a very good type of machinery installed in the cotton factories, and the system of running the mills was very efficient.