Japan - Economic Situation

Report prepared for the Foreign Economic Administration by a member of the staff of the United States Tariff Commission. This study focuses on the role of Dyes in Japan's economy. Entered in as Defense Document 500-A-17. Handwritten note states "Reproduce all. Smith." Prior to the war, Japan was the fourth or fifth largest dye-producing country with a significant export trade to the major industrial countries in the world although they were "not a formal member" of the International Dye Cartel. Points out that "the raw materials, crudes and intermediates, and basic technology of dye manufacture are common to an endless variety of products needed to prosecute a war." Concludes that "notwithstanding the considerations of the direct military value of a dye industry, the continued existence of this industry, but on a very reduced scale, would be justified to some extent on the basis of the adaptability of the industry to Japan, including the availability of certain requisite raw material

Report prepared for the Foreign Economic Administration by a member of the staff of the United States Tariff Commission. This study focuses on the role of Zinc in the Japanese economy. Entered as Defense Document 500-A-21. Handwritten note states "Reproduce all. Smith." Report finds that Japan has been heavy on imports of zinc, a material necessary for modern industry. States "the Japanese zinc supply in the form of both ore and metal may be controlled to the degree necessary by a system of import licensing or some other system of import control." Concludes that "the misallowance of exports of zinc and more especially zinc products from Japan might provide an opportunity for the expansion of zinc smelting and refining and the production of zinc consuming materials (such as sheet metal) in Korea and Manchuria rather than Japan after the war." [Note: Date field reflects when the original document was written and not the date the IPS reproduced the document for inclusion in evidence]

Report prepared for the Foreign Economic Administration by a member of the staff of the United States Tariff Commission. This study focuses on the role of Potassium Salts in Japan's economy. Entered as Defense Document 500-A-18. Handwritten note states "Reproduce all. Smith." Describes how potassium salts were important for industry and in agriculture as fertilizer. During the war, Japan's supply lines were cut so by 1942 "the supply became so acute that potassium salts were put on the critical list and every effort was made to increase domestic output." Predicts that in the post-war era, "restriction on Japanese industry will tend to reduce the demand for potassium salts by industry and the curtailment of Japanese silk production and the likely general scarcity of foreign exchange might force Japanese agriculture to rely to a greater extent on 'self-supply' to provide its available potash (K2O)." As a result, "although potassium salts are important to the Japanese civilian economy,

Report prepared for the Foreign Economic Administration by a member of the staff of the United States Tariff Commission. This study focuses on Soybeans as a commodity and investigates its position in Japan's economy as a raw material. Gives the primary uses of Soybeans and trade relations with other foreign countries for the commodity. Concludes that they have been very important in Japan's economy and potential change in the post war era. [Note: Date field reflects when the original document was written and not the date the IPS reproduced the document for inclusion in evidence]

News excerpts from the Tokyo News (focused on Economic Issues) issued by Tokyo News Service, Ltd. Headlines includes: 1948 Trade Plan Revealed, Both Experts and Imports to Reach $800,000,000, Coal and Iron and Steel Imports to be Requested; Katayama Cabinet Exercises Self-Criticism of Own Economic Policies; Children to Receive Special Food Rations as 2,000,000 Tons of Food Are to be Imported; To Stop Blackmarket Transport, Shipment Certificates for Essentials; Poisonous Insects of Ginza (Letter to the Editor); New Edition of 'Yernal Awakening', 7 Year Old Girl Becomes Pregnant; Sugar May be Made from Sawdust, Experiments Made; Summary of News in Japanese Times