February i, 1908.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



147 



The India-Rubber Industry in Japan. 



By A Special Correspondent. 



THE demand for manufactured rubber goods in Japan is 

 yearly increasing, and it is safe to forecast a very much 

 greater demand as time goes on. This demand is not. 

 however, hkely to result in any increased import of manufac- 

 tured rubber goods ; in fact the tendency is rather to a decrease. 

 This of course has not yet made itself very apparent in the 

 customs returns, as will be seen from the figures which follow : 



Rubber Goods. 



1903 $264,748 



'904 138,899 



'905 145,777 



1906 229,976 



Raw Rubber. 



1903 $108,566 



1904 274.328 



190S 427.975 



1906 292.595 



Nevertheless the imports of manufactures seem certain to de- 

 crease with the increasing number of rubber factories which have 

 been established within the last few years, and which are now 

 being erected. The old established factories also are increasing 

 their output, and recently a large increase of capital was made 

 by a majority of the rubber companies. The market for their 

 product is confined almost entirely to Japan and China, 

 and their competition must consequently affect the quantity 

 of imports into Japan ; however, it is at present a com- 

 petition in price entirely, since the question of quality docs not 

 count for very much. The better quality of goods is still im- 

 ported, and this doubtless accounts for the apparent increase in 

 values in the customs returns, for we believe that the quantity 

 of imports has actually decreased, and that this decrease in 

 quantity is more than offset doubtless by the increased value of 

 the imported goods which are now in demand. 



The majority of the rubber factories in this country are lo- 

 cated in Tokio and its ncigliborhood. Osaka, although it is 

 the prinicipal manufacturing city of Japan, appears to have been 

 somewhat backward in the matter of rubber factories. It is 

 soon, however, to obtain the premier position in this, as it has 

 in the matter of most industries. A syndicate of French cap- 

 italists, in conjunction with the Dunlop tire manufacturers, have 



planned a very large factory in this district, and it will doubt- 

 less be in operation within a year or a little more. Foreign 

 engineers were lately here looking into the matter, and there 

 is a feeling in some quarters that the opening of this plant 

 will revolutionize the rubber industry in Japan, so far as the 

 manufacture of mechanical rubber goods is concerned. 



With regard to the manufacture of insulated wires and cables'! 

 Osaka is also about to take a long step in advance. The owner 

 of one of the largest copper mines in the country now has in 

 course of construction an insulated wire works, which will prob- 

 ably be the largest concern of its kind in the empire. As the 

 owner of these works is in the foremost rank of Japanese cap- 

 italists, it is safe to predict a glowing future for the enterprise. 



Owing to the increase in the number of factories, and the 

 extension of the already existing plants, competition among the 

 rubber goods dealers already is very keen and the prospects for 

 the future that it will be still keener. It is hoped, however, that 

 this competition will ultimately lead to an improvement in the 

 quality of goods now manufactured in this country, and that it 

 will not tend, as it unfortunately seems to be doing at present, 

 to the cheapening of quality in general. 



Whatever the result may be so far as the manufactured ar- 

 ticle is concerned, the imports of crude rubber and the allied 

 materials are increasing by leaps and bounds every year. The 

 government, although wedded to a protective tariff, appears 

 to view this with favor, for among the articles which -were put 

 on the duty free list when the tariff was revised last were crude 

 india-rubber and gutta-percha. This revised tariff came into 

 effect October. 1906. Notwithstanding that rubber is duty free, 

 the government is endeavoring to foster the growth of rubber 

 |)lants in the empire, and to this end is now' encouraging the 

 cultivation of rubber trees in Formosa, and instructing the na- 

 tives in the methods of gathering the gum. No practical effect 

 from this experiment, however, can be expected for several 

 years to come. 



LIST OF RUBBER FACTORIES IN JAPAN. 



[The name first printed in each case is the Japanese name expressed in Roman letters; the second is a translation of the firm name into English. 

 The figures rafer to the names of the companies in Japanese characters, on the opposite page, reading from top to bottom of the page, at the right.] 



[I] 



NiHON Densen K.^bushiki Kaisha. 

 Japan Insulated Wire Works. 



[9] 

 Tovo FujiKURA Densen Jo. 

 Oriental Fujikura Wire Works. 



[10] 

 Kamijo Shoten. 

 Kaniiio & Co. 



MiTATsucHi GoMu Seizo Gomei Kaisha. 

 Mitatsuelii Rubber Manufacturing Co. 



[3] 

 NiHON GoMU Kabushiki Kaisha. 

 Japan Rubber Co., Limited. 



[4] 

 Yokohama Densen Seizo K.\bushiki Kaisha. 

 Yokohama Electric Wire Works, Limited. 



[5] 

 Tokio Gomu Kabushiki Kaisha. 

 Tokio Rubber Co., Limited. 



[6] 

 Meiji Gomu Seizo Sho. 

 Meiji Rubber Works. 



[7] 

 ToYO Gomu Kabushiki Kaisha. 

 Oriental Rubber Co., Limited. 



[8] 

 Momen Chotai Goshi Kaisha. 

 Cotton Belt Co. 



[II] 



Fujikura Densen Gomu Gomei Kaisha. 

 Fujikura Insulated Wire and Rubber Co. 



[12] 

 Yamada Kikyu Seisaku Jo. 

 Vamada Balloon Works. 



[13] 

 Otashiki Chotai Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha. 

 Otashiki Belt Manufacturing Co., Limited. 



[14] 

 Kakuichi Gomu Seizo Sho. 

 Kakuichi Rubber IVorks. 



[15] 

 Sumitomo Shindo Jo. 

 Sumitomo Wire Dratcing JVorks. 



[16] 

 Teikoku Densen Kabushiki Kaisha. 

 Imperial Insulating Wire Co., Limited. 



[17] 

 Goshi Kaisha Teikoku Gomu Seizo Sho. 

 Imperial Rubber Manufacturing Works. 



