Wairarapa Daily Times [ESTABLISHED OVER 50 YEARS.] THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1927. THE CRISIS IN JAPAN.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 28 April 1927, Page 4

Wairarapa Daily Times [ESTABLISHED OVER 50 YEARS.] THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1927. THE CRISIS IN JAPAN.

The financial crisis in Japan is giving rise to considerable anxiety in some circles. The commercial depression of ] 920-21, ’which was experienced throughout the' world, was first noticeable in Japan, and from there spread to the United States and thence to Europe. But that depression was due tc causes which were common to all countries! Currencies and credit were everywhere inflated. The luxury trades were the first to, feel the slackened demand caused by the suspicion which soon strengthened into certainty that all was not well in the economic life of the world. the biggest luxury trade, and silk is one of the principal commodities of Japanese export. So Japan was the first to feel severely the depression. The crisis in Japan to-day has its origin in a wholly Japanese cause—the earthquake M 1923. Thafcv disaster destroyed an immense amount of The determination to rebuild in a few years what had taken a generation to create has put an overwhelming strain on the credit of the country. Whether the strain will be eased depends upon whether the production of the country is sufficient with the utmost economy to meet tne yearly interest debt, which the programme of complete rebuilding in a short period has involved. In these circumstances, while intensification of the crisis will, perhaps, cause some tightening of credit outside, of Japan, the strain out•sule will not be great. There have been bank failures in the United States, but they have been purely local, and have been due to an unhealthy agricultural position, to land values in the agricultural States being higher than the prices .for agricultural produce warranted. Those values arc now receding.