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The Dominion. FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 1915. WHAT JAPAN IS DOING

In the course of a speech made in Wellington a few days ago, Dn. Muira, one of the Japanese Trade Commissioners, remarked that his country had done comparatively little in the war up to tho present, but he thought it would be admitted that what Japan had done had been fairly useful. Dr. Muira is'altogether too modest in his estimate of the extent and value of the services which the Japanese have rendered, and are still rendering to the Allies. It iB a great mistake to imagine that tho war is over as far as Japan "is concerned, or to think that, now that Kiao-chau and certain Pacific Islands have been wrested from the Germans with the aid of the Mikado's forces, the Japanese eau give no further assistance to the linlcntc Powers in their tremendous struggle to frustrate Germany's carefully-planned effort to" dominate the world. We all know that the Japanese Navy has been cooperating with the naval forces of the British Empire in sweeping the German warships from tho open Eeas. All the Kaiser's cruisers which were outside German waters when the war began have now been accounted for, and the hunting r down process has, at any rate for the present, come to an end. Japan- is now playing a less conspicuous, but certainly not a iess useful, part in tho struggle by supplying tho Allies with the munitions of war. Lord Kitchener, _ General French, and' leading British statesmen have recently pointed out the absolutely vital importance of maintaining adequate supplies of ammunition. Tho requirements are gigantic. It is a colossal war in every respect. The amount of ammunition which is being used is so enormous- that it is almost impossible for the British, French, and Russian factories tc maintain a sufficient output to satisfy all the demands made • _ upon them. In these circumstances it is a great advantage to the Allies to be m a position to supplement their. own supplies by drawing upon the resources of Japan. The Russian armies are using thousands of Japanese bayonets and rifles, besides vast quantities of Japanese bullets and shells. Japan is also matting millions of boots and millions of yards of khaki cloth for the Russian troops. In these ways she is fighting just as effectively as if her armies and navies were at grips with the enemy. ( In a letter from Tokio which 'recently appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, Dr. J. Ingram_ Bryan states that Japan is supplying the Allies with large quantities of foodstuffs and forage. "Thousands of tons of peas and beans have been shipped, to say. nothing of big orders for flour, and numerous other orders awaiting execution." Within a period of two weeks in- February over 60,000 tons of food for man and beast left Japanese ports on the way to Britain and France. Some time ago there was a good deal of discussion. about the advisability of sending Japanese troops to Europe, but at present the prevailing opinion seems to be that the most useful thing that Japan can do.iß to supply the armies of the Allies with food, guns, and ammunition. The feeding and equipment of tho huge hosts of fighting men engaged in this war have created a problem of enormous difficulty. Everything is on a scale of unprecedented magnitude. If the struggle is to be brought to a triumphant conclusion our troops must be well fed, well armed, and well clothed, and they must have an abundant supply of the best ammunition, Japan is doing her utmost to see that her Allies lack nothing that will help them to defeat the enemy. She is still at war, and it may safely be taken for granted that she is ready at any moment to re-enter the actual fighting arena, if it should be necessary to do so. The Germans are well aware of the importance of the role which Japan is playing, and they would be very glad if something would happen that would keep her fully occupied nearer home. It is with this object'in view that German agents are doing their utmost to cause trouble between China and Japan. The new Japanese Government has received a mandate from; the electors in favour of a forward policy in China, The Chinese are naturally suspicious and uneasy regarding; the intentions of their powerful neighbour, and German intriguers are making the fullest use of ..the tension between the two nations in the hope of bringing about a collision. The internal affairs of China are, however, so unsettled that the adoption of an aggressive foreign policy would probably prove calamitous. The astute Yuan-Shih-Kai is well aware that China is not ready for a trial of strength with Japan, and he also knows that lie could expect no help from Germany. YuAN-SniH-lvAi is not the sort of man to run the risk of downfall merely to help Germany out of the desperate- predicament into which her insatiable ambition has brought her. The Chinese may not love the Japanese, but they certainly do not owe anV debt of gratitude to the Germans.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19150416.2.25

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2437, 16 April 1915, Page 4

Word count
Tapeke kupu
858

The Dominion. FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 1915. WHAT JAPAN IS DOING Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2437, 16 April 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 1915. WHAT JAPAN IS DOING Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2437, 16 April 1915, Page 4

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