Outposts of Asia

by Morilla Maria Norton

Mayor Ozaki in his younger days was a journalist and he has an able pen. The municipality has in its care a very interesting “Alms House,” of which we may write later. It is, with other of her institutions, a most creditable one.

Japan has the quick eye that sees and puts the right man in the right place, and certainly the choice of this man was admirable for the city.

Tokyo is now expecting to buy the electric roads and make out of them something with which to carry on these gigantic schemes of improvement.

The city of Tokyo is in the hands of fifteen aldermen, a council over which the mayor is president, in addition to which is a legislative body of sixty members, elected by the citizens. The right to vote is the qualification of the tax payer and is in fact universal suffrage. This makes the city more an independent or free institution than the country, as the right to sit in parliament is only received from votes held by property owners.

The mayor is elected by the municipal assembly; there is no ceremony in the inauguration of mayor, not even a practical oath. All the members of the assembly must be citizens of Tokyo, but the mayor need not be. When he is elected mayor, the right of citizenship is conferred upon him.

All the electric car system which is now in the hands of one company, is soon to be owned by the city. It is at this present time being considered by the Diet. The city in this way hopes to meet the enormous expenses which are confronting it in the way of harbor improvement, street widening and new sewerage, all of which will cost something like 100,000,000 yen. The new water works are almost completed. The water comes from the river Fama, about fifty or sixty miles out of the city, and is a masterly piece of engineering. It will provide Tokyo with a water system second to none. Of it the present mayor is justly proud.

Tokyo is increasing in population at about the same rate as Chicago, that is, about 100,000 per year. Labor troubles have not as yet become a serious thing in Tokyo, but the prescient gaze of the administration foresees that the day is not far distant when they may become so. The municipality was only established about ten years ago and was before that under the rule of a governor. The office of governor is still a relic of the feudal times and the Governor still has some prerogatives which remain from the ancient and somewhat archaic institution.

The preparation for the coming Exposition is the most serious thing before the city now. There has been appropriated about 10,000,000 yen.

“After the Exposition we hope to have the Aoyama Parade ground as a permanent park, and the construction for this gigantic affair involves the closest attention from now on,” said His Excellency. A huge building is projected, which will become permanent and will adorn Shiba park. The model which we saw is very imposing indeed, and is the work of the city engineer. It is rather of Roman style of architecture and is massive and admirably proportioned.