990 



JAPAN. 



Taruhito (born 1886); to the house Fushimi, 

 Prince Sadanarn (born 1858) ; and to the house 

 Knnnin. Prince Yassu (born 1805). The min- 

 istry consists of eight departments, namely: 

 the Ministry of the Imperial House, of Foreign 

 Affairs, War, Navy, Finances and the Interior, 

 Justice, Public Instruction, and Kcclcsiastical 

 Affairs. At the side of the ministry stand 

 the " Sain " nr Senate, composed of about thirty 

 Ihiimiits, and the Shoin, or Council of State, 

 of an unlimited number of members, and con- 

 sulted by the Mikado at his pleasure. A Par- 

 liament was formed in 18C9, with deputies se- 

 lected by the provincial governments, but it was 

 soon dissolved, its deliberations taking no ef- 

 fect. The empire is divided into seventy-two 

 Ken, or land districts, and three Fu, or residen- 

 tial districts, namely: Yeddo (now officially 

 called Tokei, "the Capital of the East "), Osaka, 

 and Kioto. At the head of each of these seven- 

 ty-live districts is a Prefect, whose powers and 

 attributes are far more extensive than those 

 of any similar functionary in Europe. There 

 is, however, a limit to their judicial action, 

 for they cannot carry into execution sentences 

 involving banishment or death, until they have 

 been confirmed by the Minister of Justice. 



The empire consists of the Japanese islands, 

 the island of Yesso, part of the island Saghalien, 

 part of Kuriles, and the Lien Khieu islands. 

 The area and population of the several divis- 

 ions are as follows: 



Japan proper (or the Japanese Islands) is 

 geographically dividtM into the three islands 

 of Niphon, the central and most important ter- 

 ritory; KiiiMii. "the nine province*." the South- 

 western island ; and Shikokn," the four states," 

 the Southern islnnd. The capital, Yeddo, or 

 Tokei, had in 1872 a population of 780,821. 



Japan has concluded treaties with the 

 cd States (1854) ; (ireat Hritain (1854) ; Rniu 

 and the Netherlands (1855); Friuice i ! 

 Portugal (1860); Prussia and the Zollverein 

 (1861); Switzerland (1864); Italy (I860); and 

 Denmark (1867). Besides these states, lul- 

 gium, Austria, Pern, Sweden, and Spain, are 

 also represented in Japan by diploma 

 By the treaties with the foreign powers, tin- 

 ports of Yokohama, Nagasaki, Nicpita. 1! 

 Osaka, Ilakodadi, and the city of Y. -d.il>. 

 thrown open to foreign commerce. The num- 

 ber of foreigners in the treaty ports was. in 

 1871, 1,586, namely, 782 Englishmen, -J-Jn 

 Americans, 164 Germans, 158 Frenchmen, 87 

 Dutch, 166 of other nationalities. 



The budget estimates for the year 1873 are 

 contained in a report of the Commissary-Gen- 

 eral for the Administration of Finances to the 

 President of the Council of State, dated Juno 

 9, 1873. The revenue for 1878 is estimated at 

 48,700,000 ryos (1 ryo $1.08), the expen- 

 ditures nt 46,500,000 ryos ; surplus, 2,200,000 

 ryos. The principal sources of revenue are 

 the land-tax (40,000,000 ryps), and the tax on 

 brandy, oil, sugar, and similar articles (2,100,- 

 000). The principal items of public expendi- 

 tures are the pensions and indemnification of 

 the deposed Daimios (12,600,000), and the bud- 

 get of the Minister of "War (8,000,000). 

 public debt of Japan, in .Tune, 1873, consist. <i 

 of 140,700,000 ryos, embracing 26,700,000 

 home debt ; old foreign debt, 6,500,000 ; new- 

 foreign loan, contracted in 1878, 10,700,000 ; 

 paper money in circulation, 98,100,000. 



The assets embrace a sum of 17,900,000 

 ryos in the public exchequer, and a loan i 

 by the Government to the farmers, amounting 

 to 21.0(10,000 ryos and 100,000 kokns of rice 

 (1 koku 300 Ibs.). 



According to a work prepared by the Japan- 

 ese Government for the Exhibition of Vienna 

 ( " y<ite$ tvr V Empire dii Japan et tr tti f'nrti- 

 ri/::itiini ii r KrjMitilion unirertelle <le Vienne, 

 1878,'' Yokohama, 1878), the imports and ex- 

 ports in 1871 were as follows (value expressed 

 in Mexican dollars) : 



POSTS. 



Hlotro-O'aka... 



Hakodadl '.'.'.'.'.'. 

 NI.'j.-Bta 



ToUl 17.748,000 



FORF.ION TRADE. 



14.4l.-,.nOO 



1.7M.OOO 



1,545.000 



16,000 



14.481.000 

 S.OM.OOO 



s,8f.ooo 



19.1flS.fWO 



rnrrions IfKTALS. 



1,75.1,000 



I4.ono 



2.1SK.OOO 



MOUMO 



1,171,000 







COASTINO-TRAPB. 



MMOO 



1,770,000 

 00,000 



187,000 



8.R71.COO 2.476.000 



7at,ooo 



818,000 

 144.000 



104,000 



1,106.000 



lJtT,000 



448,000 



131,000 



IgHgM 



s.nw.nm 



96H.009 

 B5.0M 



8,000 



The value of principal articles of imports (ex- 

 clusive of the port of Nicgato) were in 1 870 and 

 1871 as follows (value expressed in dollar 



Tho principal articles of exports were as 

 follows : 



