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JAPAN NEEDS SUPPLIES

Japan’s anxiety to conclude an agreement with the Netherlands East Indies for supplies of petrol can well be understood. It is rather remarkable that she ever took the risk of antagonising those countries which supply her with necessities to her industrial life. How dependent Japan is on imports from other countries may not be fully realised. The decision to link with the Axis, indeed, seemed to indicate that even Japan herself had not fully assessed her dependence upon others.

The embargo placed on the shipment of aviation spirit from the United States must have been a heavy blow to the Japanese, who still, however, are able to receive supplies of ordinary petrol. The activity of the army and navy requires large quantities of petrol, and the large-scale raids on distant points in China make the import of aviation spirit a vital necessity. In risking the cutting off of such supplies Japan perhaps hoped for assistance from the Axis Powers, but that is a vain hope.

From all over the world the Japanese have for years been gathering the raw materials that have enabled them to build a great industrial nation. . Wool, cotton, metals, petrol—almost all of the essentials to industry must be brought from other countries. Scrap metal has been collected from ports in almost every quarter of the globe. The latest country to impose a ban on the export of scrap to Japan is India. Others have already acted, and if more follow suit, Japanese industry is liable to face very serious difficulties. With the China war on her hands, it would have been thought that Japan’s first act would have been to ensure the continuation of supplies of essential materials.

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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT19401022.2.28

Bibliographic details

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21250, 22 October 1940, Page 4

Word Count
285

JAPAN NEEDS SUPPLIES Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21250, 22 October 1940, Page 4

JAPAN NEEDS SUPPLIES Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21250, 22 October 1940, Page 4