506
JAPAN
war with Russia has augmented Japan's naval strength considerably, and she possesses now a fine fleet of sixty-seven, including fifteen ships of over 10,000 tons displacement. POPULATION TRADE, AND INDUSTRY
The total area of Japan, exclusive of Formosa, is estimated at 163,042 square miles and the population, according to census returns taken in December, 1901, was 45,426,651 ; but at the end of 1906 it was estimated to have increased to 48,608,943. There are, exclusive of Chinese, about 5,000 foreigners residing in Japan, more than one-third that number being British subjects. The empire is geographically divided into the four islands: Honshiu, the central and most important territory, Kiushui, "nine pro-
vinces," the south-western island; Shikoku, "the four provinces," the southern island, and Yezo, the most northerly and least developed. The former three islands are sub-divided into eight large areas, containing sixty-six provinces, and the latter (Yezo or Hokkaido) is divided into eleven provinces.
The total value of the foreign trade for the last six years was:—
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
Exports, Yen 214,929,894–204,429,991 252,349,543 258,303,065 319,260,897 321,533,610 Imports, 220,401,926 287,261,845 255,816,645 271,731,508 371,360,738 488,538,017
Total
"1
435,3318,20 491,691,839 508,166,188 530,043,578 690,621,634 810,071,627 The largest item in the Export returns of the country is Raw Silk which (not including waste) represented in 1905 a value of 71,843,755 yen and the quantity exported was 7,241,900 catties. Next in importance is the export of Cotton Yarns which were exported to the value of 33,246,462 yen in 1905. In 1890 this export represented a value of only 2,364, yon; in 1903 yarn was exported to the value of 31,418,614 yen. Cotton tissues also (with the exception of whites, which showed a remarkable decline in 1903) substantially exceeded the figures of previous years, notably in grey shirtings. The Tea export has never been so high as it was in 1903, when Green Tea represented a value of over yen 13,000,000. In 1905 the export of Green Tea amounted to 10,004,029 yen ; and tea of other descriptions brought up the total export to 10,584,343 yen. Copper has exhibited a steady increase, but in 1904 the value of the export was about two million yen less than in 1903, being only 12,907,776 yen. In 1905 the total value exported was 16,077,498 yen. Coal, too, which in 1901 and 1902 was exported to the value of 17,000,000 yen, increased to 19,260,000 yen in 1903, but in 1904 the export decreased to 14,828,092 yen, and in 1995 to 14,267,867 yen. The export of matches also maintains a steady increase, the value of 33,290,631 gross in 1904 being 9,763,860 yen, and 37,706,025 gross, valued at 10,360,762 yen, were exported in 1905.
The leading article in the Import list is Raw Cotton. In the last ten years this im- port has more than quadrupled in value. In 1905 Japan imported ginned and raw cotton to the value of 110,623,183 yen, which constituted a record, being more than thirty-two millions in advance of the previous record, which was reached in 1902. But while Japan has become a competitor of importance in the Asiatic markets for cotton goods her own import of cotton piece goods has not suffered to the extent expected. In 1902 her import of these goods represented a value of 15,416,942 yen, but in 1903 it fell to 11,086,834 yen, and in 1904 to 9,654,907 yen. In 1905, however, the import rose tʊ 19,122,836 yen, which is over three and a half millions more than in 1902. Woollen Goods were imported to the value of yen 7,982,882 in 1894, yen 12,780,326 in 1893, and yen 18,268,460 in 1893, but 1897 showed a marked reverse, the value in that year being yen 12,009,902, while 1898 showed only a slight improvement, namely, to 13,069,870 yen, and in 1899 to 13,990,186 yen. In 1900 the import took a leap to 23,474,048 yen, but it was not maintained in 1901 and 1902, the returns showing a value of 11,837,534 yen for 1901, and 14,304,534 yen for 1902. The import for 1903 showed a slight improvement, the total value being yen 16,316,074; in 1904 the import value improved, the amount being 19,342,942 yen, while in 1905 the value amounted to no less than 35,249,740 yen. Metals have shown a steady increase from yen 67,92,024 in 1893 to yen 17,553,543 in 1896, yen 20,306,841 in 1897, and yen 23,646,159 in 1898; fell to 19,698,346 in 1899, but recovered again considerably in 1900, when the value imported was yen 37,766,270. The value of this commodity imported in 1901 was yen 25,406,566, and in 1902 yen 23,836,697. In 1903 it rose to yen 27,741,078, in 1904 to 32,773,111 yen, and in 1905 to 57,970,383; the value being thus more than double that of 1901. The importation of Kerosine Oil rose from 54,692,886 gallons in 1896 to 61,058,217 in 1897, and 67,905,455 in 1898; in 1899 it dropped to 52,421,837 gallons, but in 1900 rose again to 67,842,324 gallons.
In 1901,
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