The Washington herald., 1922-02-14
Wants Trade Mutuality
Betlpeen u. s. and Orient

The Japanese are finding it diff
cult IL they do not find 1t impossible,
especially in the case of the un-
skilled workers, to return to pre-
war stanlards of living because they
were so low, according to Eigo Fu-
kai. director of the Bank of Japan,
Tokyo, and member of the Japan
ese delegation to the arms confer
ence. In recent interview lie
said that the trend of economics in
Japan in the last few yeas was
very similar to the trend III the
United States, but on a different
scale, and he urged the advantage,
to be derived from "three-cornered
relations among the United States
Japan and China.
"In the first place" he explained
the general standard Of living In
Japan before the war was so low
that it is very difficult now to return
to the pretwar condition. especially
in the case of laborers. The income
of physical laborers last year was
estimated at AL per cent of that in
1914, while the cost Of living in
creased in the same period from lO'
to 246.
'All seems very we'll. as far as
the ratio Is concerned. but. taking
the average of each kind of labor
the actual wages ranged from Yen
20 sen to l yen 20 sen. that is 10
say, roughly, from S2.10 to so cents
You will see at once how difficult
II Is to reduce wages in Japan. Even
IL the reduction were necessitate,l
by the business condition. the pro-
cess would be likely to agGraVats
social unrest. Hence the necessity
Of finding new channels for indus
trial activities is particularly press
ing in our case.
THE second peculiar difficulty ir
our case is the limited natural re-
sources of the country. 1t is hope
less with US to maintain industrial
activities by internal trade and in
ternal development alone. Activi'
ties stimulated by foreign trade
must be kept up by foreign trade
We must have markets, for our ex-
ports and we must have facilities
for importing raw materials.
in this respect. our relations
with the United States and China
are of paramount Importance. These
two countries are now the great
est customers in our foreign trade
In the last year, our exports TO the
United States were 565,00O.0 900 Yer
and our imports from the same
quartsr amounted to $4,000, 900 yen
Our exports to and imports from
China were respectively 623. .000. .00(
yen and 414,O00.000 yen. These fig
ures refer to Japan proper. I mus,
also mention that the figures relat-
ing to China include the exports tc
| and imports from the province OF
kwantung. which is leased to Japan
As the figures Just cited show, our
imports from the United States are
now in excess Of our exports thereto
Besides cotton, of which We buy
| a large amount in America every
year. We now import rice from Cal
ifornia and timber from Oregon. Or
ders are placed in America by the
japanese for materials of water
power plants, locomotives and all
sorts of machinery.
"Our imports from China are
mainly raw materials. On the side
o. our exports. the United States
Is the principal market for our silk
ard China buys from us large guam
titles of our manufactured goods.
In fact our trade with these two
countries covers fully one-half of
our whole foreign commerce at the
present: 1t Is my earnest wish, and
may say it Ia the earnest wish of
all my countrymen. that these i'm.
port relations will be further devel-
oPed and made closer for the COM
mon benefit of all concerned"