Japan at the Cross Roads. By A. AL Pooley. (Allen
and Unw:n. 10s. 6d. net.)—Mr. Pooley's elaborate study of the present condition of Japan is distinctly critical and controversial in tone. Ho thinks that we have never heard the truth about Japan, and he endeavours to give it in this volume, which is based partly on personal experience and partly on Japanese official documents. Mr. Pooley declares that the Japanese bureaucracy is all-powerful, and that, by adopting an ambitious military and foreign policy, it has imposed an unduly heavy burden on the country. "Great as Japan's successes have boon, though not so great as she would have the world believe, says Mr. Pooley, "she has now to decide whether she will be a nation of promise or one of achievement." His chapters on "Social Conditions," and on Japanese methods in Korea and Formosa, deserve attention. He shows how the war has benefited Japanese industry.
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