Tokyo, Feb. 5.
The Japanese Ministry of Railwa: is planning the construction of 500 locomotives, 1000 passenger coaches and 10,000 freight-cars to meet needs in Manchuria and North China, both fo~ peace and war, reports the "Asahi Shimbun." The, total cost will be Y.70.000.000 (over £4,000.000).
A plan embodying the establishment of a "national policy" shipping company for China has been tentatively drafted by the Shipping Control Bureau, of the Japanese Ministry of Communications, It will be finally decided upon. when a high official of the bureau returns from an inspection trip to Shanghai and other large cities in Central and North China.
A large-scale company capitalized Y.100,000,000 will be established by fourteen shipping companies in Japa which will offer 380.000 tons of ships to the new corporation.
Japan's shipping activity in China for some years has been heavily handicapped by the anti-Japanese campaign, especially in the Yangtze Valley. Of all freight transported on that river, only 20 per cent. used to be carried by Japanese ships, mostly those belonging to the. Nisshin Steamship Company. The remaining 80 per cent, was carried by foreign ships.
Japan believes that the time has come to turn the tide in its favour d! the Japanese Government has outlined a plan involving all Japanese shipping interests in North, Central ard South China.
The fourteen steamship company [likely to take part in the corporation are the Nisshin Steamship Company Dairen Steamship Company; Awa Kyodo Steamship Company; Chosen Yusen Kaisha; Nippon Yusen Kaisha: Yamashita Steamship Company; Kin-kai Yusen Kaisha; Osaka Shosen Kaisha; Harada Steamship Company: Mitsui Bussan Kaisha; Kawasaki Steamship Company; Kokusai, Steamship Company; Okazaki Steamship Company and Shimatani Steamship Compa:
Some of these companies will be wholly absorbed by the new corpora-on, others will simply offer their interests in China shipping with their ships engaged in it—Reuter,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.