154 +REPORT ON COOPERATION IN AMERICAN EXPORT TRADE.

45 per cent lower than their competitors.’ Several years ago Japanese
 competition is said to have ruined four out of five large
Norwegian match factories. The cheapness of the Japanese matches
seems to be due largely to female and child labor predominating
in the factories? A number of factories have in recent years united
into large concerns, one of which, with a capital of 4,000,000 yen,
combined 51 match factories of Osaka and 60 factories in Kobe.®
A similar combination was formed with the aid of British capital
by several large match exporters for the purpose of promoting the
export of Japanese matches to Australia and Europe.*
As a result of the expansion of the match industry, the imports of
paraffin and chemicals have increased considerably.®
Toxs.—In the toy trade Japan has for a number of years been
making considerable headway. Nearly every kind of toy is now
manufactured there, and toys from Japan find their way all over
the world. The rapid development of the toy industry is due largely
to the fact that labor is very cheap and particularly well adapted to
the requirements of this industry. In 1913 the exports of toys
amounted to £254,200. From 1909 to 1913 the value of these exports
increased £154,600. The United States, Great Britain, China, and
India are the chief markets. Some of the raw materials for the toy
industry must be imported, especially pigments and dyes, tin plate,
wire, and steel ribbon for making springs. To overcome this handicap
 and in order to promote the toy industry, the Government grants
irawbacks on certain of these materials.®
Marrine.—The fancy-matting industry of Japan has developed
into a considerable export business. In order to unify the quality of
the goods, compulsory examination of fancy mattings for export has
been established by the Government at Kobe. In 1913 the exports
amounted to 4,054,405 yen; in 1914, to 2,813,873 yen. A decrease in
exports has been noticeable for several years, owing to a change of
taste and to competition in foreign markets by Chinese matting,
which are similar in quality and general appearance and much
cheaper. The principal destination is the United States, to which
over 70 per cent of the exports are shipped.”

1 The Japan Yearbook, 1914, p. 401,
2 Sajiro Tateish, op. cit., pp. 66, 67. *
3 Archiv fiir Sozlalwissenschaft u. Sozialpolitik, 24, Band. 1907, p. 673.
s Kartell-Rundschau, 1907, p. 744.
$ K. Rathgen, Die Japaner in der Weltwirtschaft, 1911, p. 112.
8 Canada, Department of Trade and Commerce. Weekly Report, Feb. 22, 1915, pp. 444
145; also July 6, 1914, p. 987.
7 Japan As It Is, 1915, p. 178 fol.; The Japan Yearbook, 1914, p. 412 fol.; The
fifteenth Financial and Economic Annual, 1915, p. 109.