COMMUNICATIONS. Japan has been exerting every energy for ninny years to improve trans portation facilities throughout the country and to foreign lands. The Government is not unmind ful of the necessity of supplying good harbors. Yokohama, the most northerly port of first-class importance. has a naturally fine harbor that has been greatly improved by dredging. There are large dock facilities and a substantial break water. Yokohama transacts a very large part of the foreign business of the country. It is the centre of the silk trade. The second port in im portance is Kobe, one of the centres of the tea trade and other commerce of Central Japan. The ports open by treaty to foreign trade are Yokohama, Kobe. Osaka, Nagasaki, Hakodate, Niigata, and a few minor ones. In 1900 Japan had in its merchant marine 1321 steamers of the Western type (543.258 tons) and 3S50 sailing vessels of the Western type (320.572 tons). be sides a large number of sailing vessels of the native type. There are regular lines of Japanese steamers to Europe, America, Australia, British India, China. and Korea. Forty-eight steam ships. including those of the United States and Canada. ply regularly between the Pacific Coast ports of America and the seaports of Japan. some
of them going on to Hong Kong and Shanghai. Nine steamship companies have vessels in this trade. and they ply between Yokohama, San Francisco. Puget Sound ports, and Vancouver. About half of the total foreign commerce is car ried under the British flag.
At the end of 1901 the length of the .Japanese railways in operation was 4026 miles. of which the Government owned 1059 miles. Nearly 2000 miles are building. The first railway. 18 miles in length. between Tokio and Yokohama. was opened in 1872. and now there is direct communi cation by rail from Awomori at one end of the main island to Shimonoseki at the other. a dis tance of 1132 miles, and from \loji in Kiushiu, less than a mile distant, the lines run south to Kumamoto, 121 miles, and beyond. There are many branch lines, and there is a line of some length in Yezo. There are also 14 tramway com panies. with 227 miles of track, and on March 31, 1901. 205.390 jinrikishas were in use. More than 500 locomotives built in the United States are in daily use in .Japan. The post-office sys tem is extended all over the Empire. and the telegraph and telephone have been very widely introduced.