The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-07-09
ECONOMIC JAPAN.

the Eikoku Shogyo Zasshi, published
at Tokyo, recently received by the
Department of Commerce and Labor
through its Bureau of Statistics. The
communica ton. which appears in the
May number of the British Trade
Journal. indicates that commercial and
financial conditions have not as yet
been seriously affected by the Russo
japanese war, and this statement is
verified, so far as relates to commerce
with the United States, by the official
figures showing the trade of the United
States with Japan during the present
! year as compared with earlier periods.
Commenting upon trade and finan-
ciaI conditions in the Japanese Empire,
the writer above referred to says:
when the Russo-Japanese negotia-
tions were broken off and the HOSTILE
ties were opened between these two
powers we feared that great panic
would occur in our economic world
and our commerce and industry would
be upset to a large extent, the whole
energy of the people being concentrat-
ed on the war. But this turned out to
be a false fear. The war does not so
much affect our trade as we expected;
transactions are done very smoothly;
stocks which suffered from a fab for
a short time have risen again to their
prices, and factories enjoy their usual
profit. Nor does it make our people so
greatly excited as you may think, |
though we Japanese pride ourselves on !
being the most patriotic nation on !,
earth At home, our conversations are !
as merry and innocent as ever, and in
the street we see nothing warlike ex-
cept noisy newsboys delivering specials
of happy tidings in the form of our
brilliant victories both on land and
sea. Business men and laborers are
calmly attending to their own tasks,
and there is no excitement among them.
In fact, our people seem to rightly I'M
derstand that it is an important duty
on their part, especially at this juno
ture, to apply themselves to their bust
ness with as much assiduity as their
soldiers do to battles. Such being the
state of things in Japan, however long
the war may last her commerce AMI
industry will not be much affected by
it, nay, they will continue the progress
they have been used to make during
these past decades
The above statement is especially in
teresting in view of the fact that
Japan's commerce with the United
a marked advance over that OF any
preceding year, and for the twelve
months ending June 80, 1904, will prob
ably exceed 20 million dollars. Figures
fiscal year have just been issued by
the Department of Commerce and
Labor through it's Bureau of Statistics.
They show that our exports to Japan
amounted to s22,594,713 during the
eleven months of this year, as against
$19, S54, S43 in the corresponding months
of the preceding fiscal year; also that
our imports from Japan touched their
highest point for an eleven months
period. being $44, 367, 461, as against SAL
S33,351 in the eleven months of 1908, the
previous high-water mark.
Exports to Japan from the United
States reached their highest point in
the fiscal year 1900, when the total as
$29,0S7, ATS, due in large measure 10
the extraordinary purchases OF cotton
by Japan in that year. In the follow
ing year, however, there was a drop
OF fully 10 million in the volume of
our exports to Japan, though an up
ward tendency is again apparent, and
for the eleven months ending May 81,
$22, 594, 713, and for the full year will be
about "a million dollars
Since the year 1900 Japan has great
ly reduced her importations of cotton
from the United States, owing to the
high prices, and has increased her i'm
portation of lower-priced cotton from
India. In the eleven months ending
with May. 1900, Japan imported 1917
million pounds of American cotton.
valued at II % million dollars; and
in the present fiscal year to date she
has taken less than "a million pounds
of American cotton, valued at less than
million dollars.
Flour, refined mineral oils, cotton,
paper, and its products, paraf1n and
paraffin wax, electrical machinery,
locomotives, sole leather, and unmanu-