The Problem of Sanctions in the Far East

PHERE ARE two main groups of opinion on the feasibility of enforcing economic sanctions against Japan. One group-by far the larger-believes quite sincerely that an official embargo on the sale of materials to Japan and a refusal to admit Japanese imports would stop the war in China within a relatively short time with little or no danger of serious economic reprisals or of an extension of the conflict. Another much smaller group is convinced that weak sanctions would not be effective and that strong sanctions would lead to war. Prominent and active in the first group are representatives of organized labor, the Christian missionaries in China, a number of Western journalists and writers, and friends of Soviet Russia; and in a more passive role the general public. In the second group are a smaller number of journalists actually stationed in the Far East, a small group of scholars at work on Far Eastern problems, responsible government officials in the foreign or diplomatic service of their countries, isolationists in the Congress of the United States, and a much smaller proportion of the general public. There are, of course, other groups and various positions between the two extremes. Some people believe in multilateral but not in unilateral sanctions. Some advocate sanctions only if they are likely to stop the war, whereas others would employ them as a moral gesture whatever the consequences. To discuss this problem with any clarity it is necessary to define the object in view as well as the nature and extent of the sanctions contemplated. For simplicity economic sanctions may be defined as an official boycott on imports or an official embargo on exports or both together. There are also proposals for discriminatory duties and the cutting off of credit and port facilities, but these would reduce Japan's ability to buy raw materials and industrial equipment in a less drastic manner than a complete boycott and embargo. It is obvious

Far East · Political science · Sanctions · Economic Sanctions and International Relations · Law