"YANKEE OF THE ORIENT."

Taranaki Daily News, 28 August 1920, Page 9

"YANKEE OF THE ORIENT."

JAPANESE business woman. '■Tlii! title of "Yankees of the Orient," which is sometimes applied to the Japanese, whether justly or not, may, it seems, be extended to include their women (says the New York Sim). Mrs Yone Suzuki lias certainly proved her right t6 a place beside the keenest business women our own country has producer!, and that, the world admits, is a high honour. Twenty years ago her husband died in Japan, leaving her with two young son.-. She not only carried on his business, which was that of exporter of Japanese products, but she vastly extended it and became an importer as well. Now her name is known all over the world as a business woman of the most widespread interests, fn Japan she bears a reputation for merits akin to the best qualities that made up the character of Hetty Green. Mrs Suzuki enjoys also another high reputation, one of' wide philanthrophy. The home of this remarkable business woman is in Kobe, rt was there her husband died. Although there have been vast additions to it as a property, compelled by the immense growth of tlie original plant, the ancient simplicity it bore in the days of her early married life characterises it still. The exports dealt in by the. founder of the house rice, cereals, camphor—are still large factors in Mrs Suzuki's affairs. She imports from this country iron, coal, automobiles and other mechanical apparatus, including farming implements. Her interests are large in all parts of the world in lead and copper mines, flour mills, etc. Mrs Suzuki is now sixty years old but is active as over, keeping in personal touch with everything with which she has to deal in any part of the world, and interested, it is said, in all that concerns Japan politically and economically. Her numerous factories represent in their output most of the goods that the world wants from Japan. When her two sons readied maturity she took them in the business, but she ,s still the real head of it. Coincident with the Rus'o-.Tapanese war she went into the shipping business, beginning with a few steamships to carry her own exports and bring back what she needed for her own factories, several of which at that time were producing goods only for Japan. Gradually she has increased both the number of these factories and her field of sales until now she controls a great steamship line, the International Steamship Company, the ships of which sail the seven seas. Four years ago Mrs Suzuki opened offices in New York, sending over a manager and a dozen clerks from her offices in Kobe. These, with an equal force of .American clerks, transact her business here. She has offices also in T.ondon, Glasgow. San Francisco, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Bombay, with agencies in many other places. The war brought enormous prosperity to tiiis Japanese exporter. It found her ready to deal with the Allies for greatly needed supplies, and it is estimated by importers that, her operations from IBM to IftlS involved a capital of from 150,000,000 dollars to 200,000,000 dollars. What her profits amounted to in these gigantic operations nobody seems to care to guess, but 20 per cent of the figures mentioned probably falls away below the sum. Mrs Suzuki has been decorated by the Mikado for her patriotic aid manifested in different ways during the Russo-Jap-anese war. '