The Development of the Postal Savings and Savings Promotion Policy in Japan 1905-1914

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  • 日露戦後の郵便貯金の展開と貯蓄奨励政策
  • ニチロ センゴ ノ ユウビン チョキン ノ テンカイ ト チョチク ショウレイ

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Postal savings in Japan, after sluggish years in the latter 1890s, began a period of rapid progress early in this century, i. e. the time of the Russo-Japanese War from 1904 to 1905, through the development of savings promotion policy by the Japanese government. And in 1905, during the Russo-Japanese War, postal savings reached 50 million yen. After the war this increasing trend continued, and only three years later, in 1908, postal savings exceeded 100 million yen. The postal savings system began in 1875, and during the next 30 years, including the Russo-Japanese War, it reached 50 million yen, but due to the special environment created during the war, it was only three years after the war that 50-million-yen figure doubled, to 100 million. The largest factor for this remarkable progress in the postal savings was that the Japanese government paid the national treasury disbursement to individuals, increased due to the Russo-Japanese War, throngh postal savings instead of paying in cash. Therefore, the increase in postal savings during this period was not really a reflection of direct deposits, but was rather due to political reasons. Furthermore, in order to limit drawing out from the postal savings, the Japanese government decided to continue its savings promotion policy. The main reason why the government adopted this policy was to prevent a large influx of financial funds into the industrial circulation created by the war, to avoid a rapid change in domestic demand that might have initiated a post-war economic crisis, such as rising prices, increased demand for imports, and a conversion crisis. Additionally, the Japanese government tried to strengthen the supply capacity of domestic low-productivity sectors, by limiting the use of savings produced through the savings promotion policy to productive investment. This was one political measure Japan took during this period to cope with the international balance of payments imbalance. It can be said that the development of Japanese postal savings after the Russo-Japanese War reflected the position of the Japanese economy in the world economy.

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