464
Chinese...
Polish Italian
Panama
Steamers
:
JAPAN
Entered
No.
Tonnage
Cleared
No. Tonnage
13,830
35,757,315
13,841 35,521,350
51
59,058
52
61,168
11
21,901
11
21,901
5
18,946
18,946
1
3,093
3,093
Total......... 13,898 35,860,313
The
13,910 35,626,458 Extension of the Japanese railway systems has proceeded uninterruptedly since the first line was laid in 1872. The mileage open to traffic in Japan proper (ex- cluding Chosen, Formosa and Saghalien), according to the latest returns, is 5,999 miles of
of State railway and 1,834 miles of private railway. Government in 1906 decided on the State ownership of all railways which are used for general traffic, the object being to improve the facilities for direct traffic over long distances, to accelerate transportation, and to cheapen the cost. The Government proposed to purchase the lines belonging to 32 private companies within a period extending from 1906 to 1911, but the House of Peers, when the Bills came before them, reduced the number of companies to be bought out to 17 and extended the period of purchase to 1915. The aggregate length of the lines it was decided to purchase was 2,812 miles. It was soon found advisable for various reasons to carry through the whole transaction in one year, and the sum of Yen 483,563,325 was paid during the two years 1907-8 and 1908-9. The capital of the State Railway system has risen since the latter year by 47 per cent. owing to expenditure on extensions and improvements, and now amounts to Yen 1,108,060,237. The percentage of profit on the capital during the four-year period ended on March 31st, 1914, averaged 6 per cent. average interest of 35,000,000 yen per annum has been paid, subsidies amounting to 5,000,000 yen in six years have been given to the light railways, and the surplus has been invested in additious, improvements, and constructions to the amount of 172,000,000 yen in eight years to March 31st, 1917-a sum practically equal to half the capital outlay during the period. As a result of the war with Russia, the South Manchurian Railway was taken over by Japan. There are about 950 miles of electric tramway in Japan and 270 miles more under construction.
An
By treaties made with a number of foreign Governments the Japanese ports of Kanagawa (Yokohama), Nagasaki, Kobe, Hakodate, Niigata, and the cities of Tokyo (formerly called Yedo) and Osaka were thrown open to foreign commerce. In 1894 new treaties were signed with the Powers by which extra-territoriality was abolished and the whole country opened to foreign trade and residence, the treaty to come into force in July, 1899. Actually, extra-territoriality ceased to exist on August 4th, 1899.
CURRENCY
From October, 1897, Japan placed her currency on a gold basis. The unit of value is a gold Yen weighing .8333 grammes and containing .75 grammes of fine gold. The conversion from silver to gold was effected at the ratio of 1 to 32.348.
EDUCATION
Education is national and very general in Japan, and is making great progress. There are numerous High Schools, Middle Schools, Normal Schools, and Colleges for special studies such as Law, Science, Medicine, Mining, Agriculture, and Foreign Languages and several Female High Schools have been established, and are carefully fostered by the Government. In order to facilitate the prosecution of foreign studies the Government employs many European professors, and also sends, at the public expense, a large number of students every year to America and Europe.
THE 1923 EARTHQUAKE
An appalling earthquake probably the most disastrous in its consequences of any recorded in the history of the world-occurred in Tokyo and Yokohama and the surrounding district on September 1st, 1923, as a resoult of which 100,000 people were killed, 43,000 were missing and believed to be dead, and 113,000 were injured. The material damage was enormous. A very large proportion of the buildings in the capital and the chief port were reduced to dust and ashes by the earthquake and the fires which followed. The official returns gave a total of 6,962 factories destroyed, and assessed the damage at yen $380,000,000. Questioned in the Diet, Mr. Inouye said the total loss from the earthquake was between seven and ten million yen.
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