456 



JAPAK 



JAPAN, an empire in eastern Asia. The gov- 

 ernment is imperial, with a steady tendency to- 

 ward modern representative forms. The people 

 inhabiting the crescent-shaped archipelago of 

 Dai Nihon are Japanese, Riu-kiuans, and Ainos, 

 numbering in all 37,442,966 by census of 1883. 

 Formerly forbidden on pain of death to leave 

 their country, the Mikado's subjects now travel 

 freely all over the world. Permanent colonies of 

 Japanese are located in China, Corea, the Phil- 

 ippines, Hawaii, the United States, and Europe, 

 numbering in all 5,000 souls, of whom 86 are 

 in the employ of foreign governments. 



American Relations. In addition to the trea- 

 ties made by Commodore M. C. Perry and Hon. 

 Townsend Harris, the return in 1884 of the 

 Shimonoseki indemnity fund, postal and money- 

 order conventions and minor agreements made 

 between the two countries, a treaty of extra- 

 dition between the United States and Japan 

 was ratified by the U. 8. Senate, June 21, 1886. 

 This important action places Japan, so far as 

 the American Government is concerned, on a 

 footing with the most enlightened nations of 

 Europe. In addition to the large number of 

 American teachers, missionaries, and scientific 

 men who have labored in Japan, the Japanese 

 students have found hospitable welcome in 

 American schools, homes, and hospitals, and 

 friends in time of need. The ambassadors 

 Iwakura and Okubo, when living, made hand- 

 some official acknowledgment of this indebted- 

 ness. The standard political literature of the 

 United States has been translated and widely 

 read by the Japanese. Our diplomatic offices 

 in Tokio and the ports number eleven, now held 

 by eight persons. The head of the legation of 

 the United States is Richard B. Hubbard, of 

 Texas ; and the Consul-General, Clarence R. 

 Greathouse, of California. 



Finance. By report of the Finance Minister, 

 Matsukata Masayoshi, rendered April 21, 1886, 

 estimates of the nineteenth year of Meiji (En- 

 lightened Peace), A. i>. 1887, are set forth. 

 Whereas formerly the entire revenue of Japan 

 was collected from the taxes on land, modern 

 methods of taxation have distributed the bur- 

 den on nearly all classes, and relieved the 

 farmers, as the following items show : Tax on 

 land, $43,151,582; sake (rice-beer), $14,843,- 

 039; tobacco, $1,501,184; bank-tax, stamps, 

 rice and stock-exchanges, yeast, soy, confec- 

 tionery, patent medicines, shipping, carts, 

 sporting licenses, etc., $5,292,224. Other items 

 of revenue are: Railway and post, $3,184,- 

 267 ; forests, $392,393 ; business transactions, 

 $1,413,168; rents and sales of public proper- 

 ties, $473,771; fees on grants, $102,516; mis- 

 cellaneous incomes, $1,396,105 ; total revenue, 

 $74,695,415. The expenditures were : Interest 

 and pensions, $20,729,043 ; imperial household, 



$2,340,000 ; maintenance of shrines, $268,213 ; 

 expenses of the Government departments, $50,- 

 805,921 ; construction of palace and capitol, 

 $545,837 ; total expenditures, $74,689,014. 

 Among items pertaining to the public debt are: 

 Old national debt, $245,427,329 ; new national 

 debt, $10,591,275; pension bonds, $164,860,- 

 535 ; paper currency, $76,934,727 ; reserve in 

 treasury, $43,865,408; money lent to people 

 to promote industries, $18,316,823. Notifica- 

 tion has been made of a proposed new loan 

 of $175,000,000 at 5 per cent, interest, with 

 the view of calling in other loans at higher in- 

 terest. 



There are about 200 national banks in the 

 empire, which have in circulation their own 

 notes to the nominal value of $30,000,000, in 

 addition to the Government issue. In Tokio, 

 in 1886, 22 banks had capital ranging from 

 $25,000 to $1,500,000, and declared dividends 

 of from 6 to 19 per cent. 



Coinage. The Osaka Mint, one of the most 

 successful of the Government enterprises, em- 

 ploys 186 officers, and 489 servants and work- 

 men, 18 of these persons being at the branch 

 in Tokio. The plant is provided with the finest 

 European machinery, and has also a sulphuric- 

 acid and soda manufactory. From its open- 

 ing until June 30, 1885, it coined 1,210,350,977 

 gold, silver, or copper pieces, weighing 302,- 

 794,900*96 ounces, valued at $121,833,188.10. 

 During the year past there were accepted for 

 coinage 44,897'78 ounces of gold, 5,655,149-44 

 ounces of silver, and 1, 881,640*05 pounds of 

 copper. The coins struck numbered 101,152,- 

 183, valued at $7,467,929.07, of which 168,116 

 were of gold, worth $840,580 ; 5,869,548, worth 

 $5,869,548, were of silver; and 95,114,519, 

 worth $757,801.07, were of copper. 



Politics. The nineteenth year of Meiji, the 

 restoration of the Mikado to supreme power, 

 and of the reign of the Emperor Mutsuhito, 

 the one hundred and twenty-third ruler of his 

 line, finds the empire at profound peace and 

 in full career of progress. The Mikado, now 

 thirty-four years old, is surrounded by ad- 

 visers, the majority of whom are young men 

 like himself, and educated mostly in the United 

 States or Europe. The old heroes and digni- 

 taries on both sides of the civil war of 1868-'70 

 are nearly all dead. The old nobilities, the 

 kug6 or court nobles, and the daimio or landed 

 'barons, have shrunk to a status almost wholly 

 non -political. Arisugawa Takahito no Miya, 

 a prince of imperial blood, died Jan. 24, 1886. 

 Komatsu, a noble of like rank and blood, is 

 with his wife and suite traveling in Europe. 

 The new Cabinet, at the head of which is 

 Count Ito, has worked well during its first 

 year of organization, and the quiet removal of 

 several courses of intermediaries between the 



