=454. Illustration by the recent commerce of Japan.=—The distinction is so important that it deserves illustration by a particular example, and we may choose for the purpose a country which during the recent period has furnished a rapidly growing market to the merchants of the world, namely, Japan. ANNUAL AVERAGE IMPORTS OF JAPAN IN RECENT DECADES (_Values in millions of yen_) ==========+=========+=========+=======+===========+========== | From | | | From | | United | From | From | other | From all | Kingdom | Germany | U.S. | countries | countries ----------+---------+---------+-------+-----------+---------- 1881-1890 | 19.6 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 19.3 | 46.5 1891-1900 | 46.6 | 14.8 | 22.8 | 87.0 | 171.2 1900-1909 | 84.3 | 36.1 | 65.8 | 199.8 | 386.0 ==========+=========+=========+=======+====================== The Japanese monetary unit, the _yen_, has declined considerably in value in the course of the period, and therefore no exact equivalent for it can be given; but even allowing for this decline the growth of British export trade to Japan appears satisfactory if the student regards merely the figures in the first column. If we apply, however, the comparative standard, and measure the British exports to Japan alongside those from other countries, the result is not the same. PERCENTAGE OF JAPAN’S IMPORTS FROM EACH COUNTRY ==========+=========+==========+=======+===========+========== | From | | | From | | United | From | From | other | From all | Kingdom | Germany | U.S. | countries | countries ----------+---------+----------+-------+-----------+---------- 1881-1890 | 42.2 | 7.2 | 8.9 | 41.7 | 100 1891-1900 | 27.3 | 8.6 | 13.3 | 50.8 | 100 1900-1909 | 21.8 | 9.3 | 17.0 | 51.9 | 100 ==========+=========+==========+=======+===========+========== =455. Relative decline of the United Kingdom in the world’s markets.=—Pursuing the comparative method, illustrated by the last preceding table, we find that the United Kingdom during the generation 1880-1909 showed an increased share of sales in only three of the minor markets of the world: Spain, Argentine Republic, Sweden. It almost held its own in France, Switzerland and Norway; but in most of the important markets of the world it lost ground seriously. Even in its trade with the British dependencies the United Kingdom did not hold its own. Comparing the percentage of British exports to a dependency with its total imports, we find that the United Kingdom kept its place in only one of its colonial markets, Mauritius, a purchaser of relative insignificance, while foreign countries gained ground from it in British India, Australia, Canada and all the other important colonial markets.