Page:Indian Journal of Economics Volume 2.djvu/141

BRII'ISH A1VD POREIGN the world are engaged /n a bloody sir/re, such as the world has never seen before, some of the neutrals, and one st least of the Allies, are making hay'while the sun shines over millions of dead and dying, wounded and starving. For Japan ?he war has come as a god-send. ' The immediate eonssqueuee o! ?he outbreak of host/l/t/es in August 1914 was, of eourse, a severe blow to the eeonomie orgauiz?tion of Japan, involving great dislocation, and even partial paralysis of her trade and of affairs did not last long, and the -latter half o! it, was for her industry. But this. state the year 1915, especially a time of unprecedented prosperity. The principal factors whieh contributed, more than anything else, to bring about this ehango were two in number. First a remarkable expansion of her foreign export trade, due to a large sale of munitions to Russia, and the other Allies, and also to inereased exportsflea to India, the South Seas and Australia and to other eountries whieh had hitherto been supplied by the belligerent Powers. Side by side with this great growth of exports, there occurred a sudden f? in her import trade, ?hus turning the iuteruatiomd trade balan?, a'hich had been uniformly against her since 1896, with the exception of two brief years, 1906, and 1909, heavily in her fayour. We give in the following table some figures to illustrate our statemenL TOTAL VALUES OF EXPORTS AND IMPORTS OF ?fERCHANDISE 1918 191t 1915 Exports 682,460,218 591,101,461 708,806,997 Impo?ts ' Excess of exports (+) o, Imports 729,481,6t4 595,785,725 58'2,4t9,938 96,971,481 --- 4,684,26t + 175,857,059 17 numbers, by Yen down by Yen net increase of with 1914 exporls went up, in round 117,000,000 (11,987,021), imports wenl 63,000,000 (t?6,42,98?) aud lhere was a Yeu 58,000,000 (5,428,659) in lhe iolal Irade. The balance of trade which 'had beeu unfavourable in 1914, turned heavily in fa?,our o! Japan, and led, it may be pointed out, to a mar? increase in her specie holdings in the foreign markets,