Japan has a foreign trade of $60,000,000 annually in exports and
$86,000,000 annually in imports. Of the export trade the principal
part, running from a fourth to a third, is with the United States. The
next largest part is with France, the next with Hongkong, the next
with China, and the next with Great Britain. But Great Britain's
direct share is not more than a twelfth. Of the import trade the
principal part, almost one third, is with Great Britain. The United
States' share is about a twelfth, and that of France about one
twenty-fifth. The principal exports are RAW SILK (about one third of
the whole), SILK GOODS (about one tenth of the whole), TEA, coal,
copper, rice, and matches. The export of matches amounts to $2,500,000
annually. Characteristic exports, though they do not figure largely in
the total amount, are floor rugs, lacquered ware, porcelain ware,
fans, umbrellas, bronze ware, repoussé work, paper ware and
papier-mâché, fibre carpets, and camphor. There is also a large export
of fish, shellfish, cuttlefish, edible seaweed, and mushrooms to China
and other Asiatic countries. The chief import is RAW COTTON (almost
one fifth of the whole). Other important imports are sugar (although
she raises almost 100,000,000 pounds of sugar herself annually),
cotton yarn, cotton goods, woollen cloths, flannels and blankets,
kerosene oil, watches, and articles of iron and steel as above
enumerated. The fishing industry is a very important one and over
2,500,000 people are engaged in it. The number of fishing-boats is
about 400,000. The fish trade, which includes seaweed, is (when not
for home consumption) principally with China.
[Illustration: Japan's relation to eastern Asia.]