TRADE WITH JAPAN.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 110, 30 October 1911, Page 8

TRADE WITH JAPAN.

POSSIBILITY OF NEW MARKET FOR OUR WOOL. Auckland, October 27. Two distinguished Japanese visitors who arrived in Auckland this morning by the Marania' were Messrs. T. Hodsumi and T. Aizawa, officials of the Yokohama Specie Bank. They have just completed a tour of Australia, andl speak in terms of high appreciation of all they saw in the Commonwealth. Their mission to Australasia is to make investigations regarding the possibilities of trade- with Japan. The operations of the bank which those gentlemen represent are, it seems, much wider than those of banking institutions as we know them.

"The business of our bank, among other things, is to promote foreign trade," explained Mr. Hodsumi, who speaks excellent English, in conversation with a reporter. ''We have come here to see what prospects there are for the expansion of trade between your country and ours. We are going to be big customers for Australasian wool, for one thing. At present it cqmes to us mostly from England, already manufactured into clothing material; kit we are putting up factories for ourselves, and we shall have to look to you for most of our supply of the raw material. You will send us shiploads of wool, and those ships will, we hope, take back considerable quantities of our silks and Japanese ware. We shall go away with most favorable impressions of Australasia, where every person we have met has been exceedingly kind. When we left Japan we had, we must admit, fears of the sort of reception we would get, because certain restrictions might seem to imply some unfriendliness towards, the Japanese; but if we are to judge by the treatment we have everywhere received, you have nothing but the kindest of feeling for us."

Both visitors go by the Marama this afternoon to Vancouver, thence to Yokohama.