[ TAXATION [XXVII].] Before 1906 national taxation was 2.5 per cent. of the legal price of land. In 1900 it was 3.3 per cent., in 1904 5.5 per cent., in 1911 4.7 per cent, and in 1915 4.5 per cent. But local taxation increased in greater proportion.
[ FLAVOUR OF RICE AND PRICE FLUCTUATIONS [XXVIII].] Japanese rice has a fatty flavour which the people of Japan like. Therefore the native rice commands a higher price in Japan than Chinese or Indian rice. With the exception of a small quantity exported to Japanese abroad, Japanese rice is consumed in Japan. The supply of it and the demand for it are exclusively a Japanese affair. Naturally, when the crop fails the price soars, and when there is a superabundant harvest the price comes down to the level of foreign rice. Here is the secret of the enormous fluctuations in the price of Japanese rice with which the authorities have so often endeavoured to cope.
The Government granary plan is the third big effort of authority to manage rice prices. The Okuma Government, under the administration of which rice went down to 14 yen per koku, had a Commission to raise prices. The Terauchi Ministry, at a time when prices rose, touching 55 yen, had a Commission to bring prices down.
[ AREA AND CLIMATE [XXIX].] Japan Proper comprises a main island, three other large islands in sight of the main island, and archipelagos—4,000 islets have been counted. The main island, Honshu, with Shikoku behind it, lies off the coast of Korea; the next largest and northernmost island, Hokkaido, off the coast of Siberia, and the remaining sizeable island and the southernmost, Kyushu, off the coast of China over against the mouth of the Yangtse. The area of this territory, that is of Japan before the acquirement of Formosa, Korea, southern Saghalien and part of Manchuria, is about 142,000 square miles in area, which is that of Great Britain in possession not of one Wales but of four, or nearly 1 per cent. of the area of Asia. But there are several million more people in Japan than there are inhabitants of Great Britain and thrice as many as there are Britons in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India. (See also [Appendix XXX].) Japan, which lies between the latitudes of Cairo and the Crimea, may be said to consist of mountains, of which fifty are active volcanoes, with some land, either hilly or boggy, at the foot of them. It is nowhere more than 200 miles across and in one place is only 50. A note on the ocean currents which exercise an influence on agriculture will be found on page 195. The protection afforded to the eastern prefectures by mountain ranges is obvious. Generally the summer temperature of Japan is higher and the winter temperature is lower than is recorded in Europe and America within the same latitudes.
"The mild climate and abundant rainfall," says the Department of Agriculture, "stimulate a luxuriant forest development throughout the country which in turn provides ample fountain heads for rivers. The rivers and streams run in all directions, affording opportunity for irrigation all over the country. The insular position of the country renders its humidity high and its rainfall abundant when compared with Continental countries. The rainy season prevails during the months of June and July, making this season risky for the harvest of wheat and barley; on the other hand it affords a beneficent irrigation supply to paddy-grown rice, which is the most important crop. The characteristic feature of the climate in the greater part of the islands is the frequency of storms in the months of August and September. As the flowers of the rice plant commence to bloom during the same period, these late summer storms cause much damage."
The weather in Tokyo in 1918 was as follows:
| Jan. | Feb. | Mar. | Apl. | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | |
| Rain and snow (mm.) | 10 | 65 | 163 | 108 | 123 | 149 | 82 | 78 | 202 | 135 | 142 | 80 |
| Temp. (C.) | 1.6 | 3.6 | 6.7 | 11.7 | 16.7 | 20.2 | 26.0 | 26.0 | 22.6 | 16.0 | 10.4 | 3.9 |
The varied climate of Japan is indicated by the following statistics for centres as far distant as Nagasaki in the extreme south-west and Sapporo in Hokkaido:
| Nagasaki | Kyoto | Tokyo | Niigata | Aomori | Sapporo | |
| Days of rain or snow | 179 | 176 | 144 | 218 | 229 | 216 |
| Average temp. (C.) | 14.9 | 13.6 | 13.8 | 12.5 | 9.4 | 7.3 |
| Maximum | 36.7 | 37.2 | 36.6 | 39.1 | 36.0 | 33.4 |
| Minimum | 5.6 | 11.9 | 8.1 | 9.7 | 19.0 | 25.6 |
The italicised temperatures are below zero. Average dates of last frost: Tokyo, April 6; Nagoya, April 13; Matsumoto, May 17.