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iron, steel and machinery. The growth of the Japanese woollen industry led to a decrease in imports of woollen goods and to the direct importation of Australian wool. The import of motor cars had greatly increased and ammonium sulphate figured as a large item in the import list, having taken the place of other fertilisers. Further, Japan had begun the manufacture of aluminium goods and dyes, and had increased her production of paper.
The following table, which is taken from the Annual Report for the year ended June 30th, 1928, of the Commercial Counsellor and Commercial Secretary, H.M. Embassy, Tokyo, shows, with 1928-1930 figures added, the change in the nature of Japan's import trade :-
PERCENTAGE SHARES OF TOTAL IMPORTS INTO JAPAN.
Partly
Wholly
Raw Materials.
manu-
manu-
factured.
factured.
Food and Drink.
1922
43.8
20.6
19.3
15.3
1923
50.2
18.0
18.2
12.6
1924
47.5
18.4
19.2
14-1
1925
58.0
12.7
13.5
15.2
1926
56.4
15.0
13.2
14.7
1927
55.1
15.9
13.3
14-8
1928
53.2
17.4
15.1
13-7
1929
55.3
16.0
15.6
12.3
1930
53.8
15.4
16-6
13.5
It is evident that, although there are fluctuations from year to year, the proportion of imports of raw materials has increased in the period 1922-1929, whilst the proportions of imports of partly manufactured and wholly manufactured goods have decreased.
*
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CHAPTER III.
THE PRINCIPAL INDUSTRIES.
COTTON.
21. A detailed study of the Japanese cotton industry has been made by the Cotton Mission, which accompanied us to the Far East. Their report, which is separately published, shows that the outstanding fact, as regards the Japanese cotton industry, is its extraordinary success in the last twenty years in supplanting the manufactures of Lancashire in Far Eastern markets. The explana- tion is quite simple. Japan buys her raw material at no dis- advantage compared with Great Britain, and her conversion costs are very much lower. Further, she has specialised in producing goods which satisfy the great majority of Far Eastern buyers at prices which those buyers are able and willing to pay. Lancashire, however, is still producing quality goods which were saleable when she was practically the only supplier. These have been supplanted by Japanese goods of competitive quality at much lower prices. The adherence by Lancashire to the production of goods of a quality higher than many of the world's markets desire, or can afford, together with conversion costs also higher than those of Japan, have been the causes of the great decline in her trade to the Far East.
For a detailed study of the Japanese industry, we refer to the Cotton Mission's report. Our conclusions are stated in Chapter XI of this report.
IRON, STEEL, AND ENGINEERING.
RAPID GROWTH OF JAPANESE INDUSTRY.
22. The rapid development of industrial Japan was due to a deliberate policy dictated by a lively appreciation of Western civilisation as a wealth-producing machine. For the modernisation of old-established industries, the Japanese Government not only employed experts from abroad but sent students overseas for train- ing, and imported up-to-date machinery for state factories. As the value of the modern factories became a matter of proof, they gradually passed into private ownership and were models for numerous other developments. The texture to-day of Japan's great industrial fabric still shows the design laid at the foundation. The influence of Government support is all prevailing-by subsidy and tariff, in education and research, through the banking system and the railway administration every aid is given to the industrialist. The ideal aimed at is that of a self-supporting industrial system, requiring a minimum import of manufactured goods. Great pro- gress had been made even before 1914 towards this ideal. The war,
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