JAPAN AND MANCHURIA.
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
Sra,—Mr. Wilkinson tells us that prior to the Russo-Japanese War, Japan's export trade to Manchuria did not exceed 1,000,000 yen. He might have added that the value of her total export trade at that time was, in round figures, 300,000,000 yen or 80,000,000 yen less than she exported to China alone in 1928. To be explicit. Japan's total exports in 1903 amounted in value to 289,502,442 yen, and in 1928 to 1,971,955,352 yen. That rather upsets the argument. The fact is, we had established our trade with China when Japan was asleep, and in less than 60 years from her awakening she had overtaken and passed us, and is now a long way in front. We increased our exports to Manchuria seven times in twenty years under Japanese administration. This would have been impossible under Russian control.
Japan's progress in Manchuria is easily explained. She is out to develop a country in which she is directly interested, and her imports from there had reached the value of 150,000,000 yen in 1928, while her exports totalled 110,000,000 yen. These figures tell their own story. Mr. Wilkinson complains of preferential treatment to the United States for " political purposes." Here is a good reason. In 1928 the United States imported 826,000,000 yen worth of goods from Japan, and exported to her 625,000,000 yen worth. During the same year Britain imported from Japan goods to the value of 59,000,000 yen, and exported to her 165,000,000 yen worth. One more reason. Japan can get what she wants from the United States on reasonable terms and when she wants it. She cannot always rely on doing so from us.—I am, Sir, &v.,
Braehead, Lochwinnoch, J. HARDIE. Renfrewshire.
[We cannot continue this correspondence—En. Spectator.]
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