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11
(I)
CONTROL OF OPIUM IN JAPAN PROPER.
The control of opium in Japan was under consideration even prior to the Restoration of Imperial Authority; for in July, 1858, when a treaty was concluded between the Shogun Iyesada Toku- gawa and the British Government, its importation was prohibited. In the Meiji Era the prohibition become still stricter, and in August, 1870, the Regulations for the Handling of Crude Opium were issued, whereby druggists and medical practitioners were required to report to the authorities having jurisdiction any sale or purchase of opium for medicinal purposes, and Chinese subjects in this country were warned that the smoking and transfer of opium in Japan were strictly prohibited and any person violating this prohibition would be severely punished; and further, those persons who were unable to overcome the smoking habit would be instantly deported from the country. In 1880 the Penal Code was issued, and brought into operation in January, 1882. In Part II. Chapter V. Section I of this code the offences con- nected with opium were defined, namely, importation, manu- facture, or sale of opium, importation manufacture, or sale of implements used for opium-smoking, seeking profit by providing rooms for opium-smoking, enticing others into opium-smoking, and possession or taking charge of opium or implements for smoking it; and the penalties in these cases were made severe, compared with other offences (the code was amended in 1907 and these offences were defined in Part II. Chapter XIV of the amended code). Although the importation and sale of opium was thus absolutely prohibited, the Imperial Government hat long recognized in view of its indispensability for medicinal purposes, that, as the absolute prohibition of its importation would defeat the purposes of medical treatment, it was necessary to find a way for