naturalized Japanese, who were staying there, was more than 160. The Ōsaka Shōsen Kwaisha[1] has a branch office in Fuchow; and the Formosan Bank has sent there a special commissioner. In Amoy also, on account of its proximity to Formosa, Japanese influence is growing.
The great increase of Japanese enterprise on the Yangtse River during recent years deserves a paragraph by itself. There are several Japanese lines of steamers, besides special vessels for the coal and iron trade. "Side by side with this development of carrying facilities many Japanese, in the capacity of merchants, Government employes or projectors, may be seen travelling in the Yangtse Valley; and further the number of persons engaged in the translation of Japanese books into Chinese has increased in an extraordinary degree. . . . Nothing is more remarkable than the popularity enjoyed by Japanese things and Japanese subjects."
In view of the complications with Russia, it is well to call attention to the fact that Northern China, especially Manchuria, is most important to Japan from the commercial point of view. The trade with Dalny alone is from 30,000,000 to 40,000,000 yen per year, and that with all Manchuria amounts to about 20,000,000 yen annually. It is perfectly natural, therefore, that Japan should object to continued Russian occupation, from which she has already suffered by direct and indirect interference,
- ↑ Osaka Merchant Steamship Company.
