Directory_and_Chronicle_1925 — Page 525

JAPAN

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1184 by Yoritomo, a general of great valour and ability, and was continued through several dynasties until 1868, when the Tokugawa family were dispossessed of the usurped authority. Under the Shogun 300 or more Daimios (feudal princes) shared the administrative power, being practically supreme in their respective domains conditionally upon their loyalty to the Shogun; but their rank and power disappeared with the Shogunate. On the 7th July, 1884, however, His Majesty issued an Imperial Notification and Rescript rehabilitating the nobility, and admitting to its ranks the most distinguished civil and military officials who took part in the work of the Restoration. The old titles were abolished, and have been replaced by those of Prince (Ko), Marquis (Ko), Count (Haku), Viscount (Shi), and Baron (Dan).

REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE

The budget for the current fiscal year, submitted in December, 1923, included restoration expenditure yen 597,000,000 spread over a period of six years. Mr. Inouye explained that the fire insurance subsidy, amounting to yen 180,000,000 would be submitted at an extra session as a supplemental bill. The Government proposed to secure restoration funds by public loans. The total for the 1924 Budget, in round figures, was given as:-Revenue: yen 1,299,000,000, inclusive of yen 84,000,000 Ex- traordinary account; Expenditure: Ordinary, yen 1,028,000,000; Extaordinary, yen 271,000,000. Ordinary expenditures included Ministry of War, yen 180,000,000; Ministry of Navy, yen 126,000,000; Foreign Ministry, yen 17,000,000; Ministry of Education, yen 72,000,000. Extraordinary expenditure: Ministry of War, yen 13,500,000; Ministry of the Navy, yen 112,000,000; Foreign Ministry, yen 2,500,000; Ministry of Education, yen 8,500,000. Subsequently the Government were obliged to agree to a reduction of the Restoration budget by yen 140,000,000.

The revenue for the year 1923-24 was estimated at 1,346,000,000 yen. The total of the national debt at the end of 1922 amounted to 3,722,000,000 yen, as compared with 3,512,000,000 yen at the end of 1921, about one-half being foreign loans. The total of the public loans raised for the purpose of meeting extraordinary expenditure connected with the war with Russia exceeded 1,700,000,000 yen, which is three times the total amount of the loans prior to the outbreak of the war. The greater part of this huge sum was raised in Europe and America, and to effect the redemption of these loans a law was passed in 1906 establishing a national debt consolidation fund, to which a sum of not less than 110,000,000 yen (£11,267,029) lias to be transferred annually from the general account. The grand total of the extraordinary expenses connected with the war with Russia was 1,982,000,000 yen (£203,073,770). The debt per head, which was as high as 48.438 yen in 1909-10, was 35.478 yen in 1913-14, 32.339 yen in 1917-18, 33.075 yen in 1918-19 and 36.430 yen in 1919-20. Following on the restoration of peace there was a remarkable boom in commercial enterprise. The European war marked a new era in international financial relations and Japan, which was solely a debtor country previously, was raised to the dignity of a creditor country. At the end of 1919 it was estimated that the foreign credit account of Japan was upwards of 1,500,000,000 yen.

ARMY AND NAVY

Until the war with China, the Army consisted of six divisions and the Imperial Guards, with a peace footing strength of 70,000 in round numbers, and a war footing of 268,000, exclusive of the gendarmerie and the Yezo militia; but on the conclusion of that war a large scheme of expansion was adopted, under which the number of divisions was raised to 12, exclusive of the Guards. In 1904-5 Japan sent a million men into Manchuria, of whom more than 600,000 were combatants. After the Russo-Japanese War Imperial approval was given to the increase of the Army to 25 divisions. Every male Japanese is compelled to personal service from the age of 17 till the completion of his 40th year.

At the conclusion of the war with China, Japan found herself in possession of a fighting fleet of 43 serviceable vessels-independent of 26 torpedo-boats- their aggregate displacement being 78,774 tons. Of these, 10, with an aggre- gate displacement of 15,055 tons, had been captured from China. Prior to the capture of the Chen-yuen, now called the Chin-yen, Japan did not possess a line- of-battle ship. Her fleet consisted entirely of comparatively small vessels. An ex-

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