MITI and the Japanese miracle

Page 91

TABLE

7

Price Fluctuations, July 1914March 1920

(July 1914 = 100)

Month

Index

July 1914

100

March 1919

267

June 1919

295

December 1919

381

March 1920

425

SOURCE

: Fujiwara Akira et al., eds.,

Kindai Nihonshi no kiso chishiki

(Basic knowledge of modern Japanese history), Tokyo, 1972, p. 278.

Both the agricultural and industrial groups attempted to influence the government directly and to shape policies in the Diet through their support of political parties. The landlordsled by their president, Matsudaira Koso *, a descendant of the daimyo of Fukui prefecture, and their vice-president, Kuwata Kumazo*, a member of the House of Peersput their faith in the Seiyukai* party and in the upper house, where landlords with large holdings were entitled to seats because of the high taxes they paid. The industrialists were less vocal on the subject of rice prices, but they exercised their influence through their members who were appointed to the various cabinets as minister of agriculture and commerce. The most important of these men was Yamamoto Tatsuo of Mitsubishi, who served as minister in both the Yamamoto Gonnohyoe* cabinet of 191314 and the Hara cabinet of 191821.

The issue of rice prices for city dwellers versus rice prices for farmers came to a head in 1918 when the combination of a bad harvest and the need to supply increased provisions to the armed forces for the Siberian Expedition led to a panic of rice speculation and profiteering. On September 1, 1917, the Terauchi government issued its famous Profiteering Control Ordinance (Bori* Torishimari Rei), which made crimes of both attempting to corner a market (

kaishime

) and holding goods off the market in anticipation of price rises (

urioshimi

). The result, however, was a chilling of all markets as producers held back goods until the uncertainty was over. Whether Mitsui Trading Company and Suzuki Trading Company were actually engaged in cornering the market, or whether they were importing rice from the colonies and evading the duties on it in order to sell it at the higher domestic prices, or whether Mitsui was primarily intent on driving Suzuki out of business are all relevant issues, but they need not be