The Yen Bloc

J APAN'S great dependence on imports is at the foundation of many of the policies which have caused grave concern to Western countries. From 1920 to 1930 the excess of imports was so great that the foreign balances built up during the Great War were exhausted and Japan was forced to borrow abroad. The departure from gold at the end of 1931 and the consequent depreciation of the yen helped to stimulate Japanese exports and also made it possible for Japan to expand her heavy industries. By 1936 the Japanese Empire was self-sufficient in foodstuffs and in many manufactured products, but it was importing the raw materials used in its textile, metals, and machinery industries. There was still an excess of imports, but the unfavorable balance was much smaller and could be met by means of the income from shipping and other services. Japan was producing her own airplanes, ships, railway equipment, arms, ammunition, and much of her machinery, but she was still importing the more elaborate types of machine tools and also automobiles and automobile engines. She had become, on balance, an exporter of finished steel, of machinery and vehicles, and of some heavy chemicals, but she had also become increasingly dependent on imports of strategic raw materials. The mineral imports tended to be more and more in the form of ores, scrap metal, and crude petroleum, which were smelted or refined in Japan. This development of refining capacity in Japan meant that Japan could make use of many small and diversified sources of raw materials and thereby diminish her relative dependence on the principal industrial countries. PROPORTIONS AND SOURCES OF IMPORTS

Computer Science · Japanese History and Culture