Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1941, Page 25

THE BALANCE OF WORLD ECONOMY
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therefore, has been expanded. Gudmund Hatt says: “Japan to-
day has not only twice as many inhabitants as in 1870, but
modern Japanese eat better than their grandparents — the con-
sumption of rice per individual has increased by 18 per cent., of
wheat by 52 per cent., sugar 25 per cent., meat 366 per cent.,
fish 182 per cent.”1) The author points out that Japanese states-
men are now fully aware that the problem of surplus population
in Japan must be solved by industrialisation. It is in order to
secure raw materials and a market for her industries that Japan
has penetrated into China. “Japan’s industrial efficiency” says
Gudmund Hatt “has forced back European and especially British
goods in the Asiatic markets. This has hit the British textile in-
dustry all the harder because the other Asiatic markets — par-
ticularly India and China — at the same time to an increasing
extent cover their demand for textiles by home production. —
In the course of the seven years from 1927 to 1933 the world
trade in cotton textiles has been reduced by one third, and British
exports have been halved, but at the same time Japanese exports
of cotton textiles have increased by a little more than 50 per
cent. In 1927 England alone covered 52 per cent. of the entire
world trade in cotton textiles, but in 1933 only 38 per cent.;
in the same period Japan’s share increased from 17 to 39 per cent.
The Dutch East Indies, British Malaya and a number of African
countries are similarly hit by Japanese competition. “Japan” says
the author “has become the supplier of the poorest coloured
peoples.”
In 1930 the value of Japan’s exports was 1470 million Yen,
in 1934 2172 million Yen and in 1937 3175 million Yen.
Japan has evidently understood far better than Europe what
the millions of Asia would mean as a future market. This was
clearly stated in 1915 by the then Japanese minister of com-
nierce, Baron Makino, with respect to China. And it is plain that
the latter vast country is fully aware of the value of its 450 mil-
lion inhabitants as a market from its repeated boycott of Japanese
good which began as far back as in 1908 and were continued in
19x5, 1919, 1921 and 1923 until three years ago it led to the
present conflict.
x) Gudmund Hatt: Stillehavsproblemer (Pacific Problems). Det kgl.
Danske geografiske Selskabs Skrifter. Kulturgeografiske Skrifter (Publica-
tions of the Royal Danish Geographical Society. Papers on Cultural Geo-
graphy) I p. 15, Copenhagen 1936.
2*