JAPAN AND THE "IRREPRESSIBLE EXPANSION" DOCTRINE
Saghalin; having together a total area of about 110,000 square miles, as compared to the area of old Japan of 148,000 square miles. In 25 years Japan has expanded her territory about 70 per cent.
The population of Japan proper increased rapidly for two decades until about five years ago, when the rapid increase arrested apparently by natural or internal causes. It is now almost at a standstill; being about one-half of one per cent. for the year 1920, according to figures recently compiled by foreign experts. This is a smaller per-centum increase than in the United States now.
The population per square mile of old Japan approximately is 370. The total population of old Japan in 1921 is between 55,000,000 and 56,000,000.
The population of Korea in 1921 approximately is 17,000,000, which is 205 to the square mile. Japan proper and Korea are similar as to terrain, both countries being hilly, with considerable regions unsuitable for agriculture. Korea produces enough to support its native population, but little more. On the face of these figures it hardly will be assumed that the necessity to obtain Korea to get "room" for the excess population of Japan is a valid reason, or was the real reason for Japan to annex Korea.
The greater part of the population of old Japan is located in the southern islands, where the climate is mild. The northern part of Japan is thinly populated. The reason is that Japanese do not like to live in a cold climate. The south end of the large island of Saghalin was annexed to Japan after the Russo-Japanese war. It is very fertile and has a meagre population; but few Japanese go there to live. There is "room" for many millions of Japanese in the northern part of old Japan and in Saghalin, but the climate is too cold to suit them. They like places like Hawaii and California.
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