Tokio, May 10.
Financial and commercial Japan more worried to-day about the country's economic condition than about the immigration question or} fag regards the result of the general ions.
'An official statement " estimates that the foreign trade during the month of April has resulted excess of imports over exports' the value of Yen 106,000,000 bringing the total value of the adverse nee of trade since January this year to Yen 583,820,000, unpre-cedent in the commercial history of these islands. Not only is this ad verse balance immensely In excess of the adverse trade balance that tthe country has faced during corresponding periods of other bad busi ness years, but additional: statistics]
show that the export trade will be far from flourishing for some time: to come. The importation of raw cotton, an item that figures largely manufacturing activity much less active during' these past months than during the early half' of Inst year, and this leads merchants to entertain a fear that the! immediate future of the country's "export trade is fur from renssaring, for, after raw silk, cotton manufac tures, especially to China and Indin, form' the next most important item in Japan's export trad Towards the end of April, how ever, there was a remarkable defereate in the value of imports and the lull, which was expected to fol-Tow the re-imposition of customs duties at the end of March, hus now definitely set in, Tt is usually during che second half of the year that the export trade of Japan shows the best.
The first six months of the! year are generally adverse to this country, but the latter half genernlly makes up for the excess of int ports over exports in the previous six-month period. The prevent excess of Imports over exports, hovever, Is $0 great—a total value of nearly Yen 600,000,000 in four} montho—that it is exorcising a very depressing influence over industrial princes, financial captains and merchant magnates, especially us this adverse balance' of trade for four months is three timer as (urge as. that of the worst year Japan's trade has yot experienced. "Little "hopes are entertained that the export bu: ness for the remainder of 1924 will pick up, to an extent sufficient to Counter-balance the unpropitious effects already sustained.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.