Pay in the Japanese Navy is, save in one important particular (mess
allowance), very much on all-fours as to system with pay in the Russian
Navy. There is, in all ranks, the same distinction between shore pay
and sea pay, only, unlike the Russian, the Jap is not confined inside
his harbours by Nature for two-thirds of the year.
Like Russian pay, too, it varies according to the station and varying
living expenses. The distinctly Japanese element—and a very democratic
one to boot—is that mess allowance is the same for all ranks: an
ordinary seaman, a lieutenant, and a vice-admiral all draw exactly the
same sum for messing, and that the modest one of 4_s_. 7_d_. and a
fraction per week—a pound a month. The idea of the Japanese Government
appears to be admirable enough in theory; it has certainly the merit of
simplicity.
It must be borne in mind that the cost of living in Japan is about
one-third the cost of living in the same style in England, about half
the cost of living in Russia, and one-fifth the cost in the United
States.