“BREAKERS AHEAD."

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3582, 18 September 1920, Page 2

“BREAKERS AHEAD."

TRADE CRISIS IN JAPAN. Thu New South Wales Premier has received a despatch from the Commercial Commissioner in lhe East (Air. Suitor), in which he statesl fee! that the recent collapse of the share market in Japan, and consequent general financial depression, is going to prove more fai-reaching than originally anticipated. The feeling to-day in all commercial! circles is of very pronounced depression, and practical total cessation of credits on anything but a small scale.’' Mr. Suitor adds that Japan enjoyed such marked prosperity during the war that the specie held by the Government and the Bank of Japan on May 23, 1920, totalled £232,500, 000.

Air. Sutler goes on to show that from 1915 to .1919, 0950 new companies were floated with a. capital equal to £162,352,8(35. “Japan was simply carred away,” he says, “with an inflated idea of production and the booming of prices, which became more pronounced towards the end of 1919. In March and April of this year' the crisis really came, and a general fall in all shares and products that had been forced up to absurd rate. Unfortunately, food supplies and rents did not fall in values, and

the losses must I, be very considerable from the fact that other buyers after the crisis could operate at loss than half the higher quotations in many respects.

“All financial 1 institutions suddenly became nervous at the trend of affairs, the result being, at time of writing ami during the last three mouths, a sort of commercial stagnation and general unrest on all markets, and the cancellation of contracts. The outlook is still far from reassuring in Japan and adjacent markets. In reality Japan is now faced with the aftermath of her boomed prosperity, and already large numbers of operatives and others are being paid off, and ranks of the unemployed arc daily increasing. From any standpoint I fear the future holds in store much of interest to Japan. With a large number of people out of work and pronounced shortage of food supplies, industrial and commercial Japan are certainly faced with ‘breakers ahead.’ ”