they must pay direct national tax to the amount of not less than 10 yen. Citizenship is shared by all male Japanese subjects not less than 25 years of age, who for two years (1) reside in the municipality, or town, or village; (2) share its burden; and (3) pay land tax or not less than 2 yen direct national tax annually in it. The governor and sheriff are appointed by Government; the mayor is that one of three candidates elected by the municipal assembly who has obtained the Emperor's approval; and chief magistrate of town or village is one who has been elected by the town or village assembly and has obtained the governor's approval. The Hokkaidó has a governor and a special organisation. Taiwan (Formosa) has a governor-general, who is invested with very extensive powers. island is divided into 20 local divisions (Chō), each of which has a chief magistrate. Area and Population. The Empire consists of the five principal islands of Honshiu (mainland), Kiushin, Shikoku, Hokkaido (Yezo), and Taiwan (Formosa); besides the Chishima (Kuriles), Sado, Oki, Awaji, Iki, Tsushima, Liukiu, Ogasawarajima (Bonin), and Hōkotō (Pescadores) islands. Taiwan (Formosa) and Hōkotō (the Pescadores) were ceded by China in accordance with the treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895. Administratively there exists (exclusive of Formosa) a division into 47 prefectures (3 "Fu," 43" Ken" and 1 "Dō." There is also (excluding Formosa) a division into 85 provinces, 60 municipalities, and 638 counties, 1,121 towns, and 12,351 villages (1903). The number of Japanese proper (i.c. excluding natives of Formosa and the Pescadores) residing in Japan or abroad has increased as follows in six years: The total area of Japan (without Formosa 13,458 square miles, and the Pescadores 85 square miles), according to the official returns of December 31, 1903, was 147,655 square miles. The number of Japanese proper, at home and abroad, divided according to the six statistical divisions was as follows: The population consisted of 23,601,571 males and 23,131,270 females in 1903. On December 31, 1903, the population was divided among the various lasses as follows:-Imperial family, 63 (not included in the total population); kwazoku, or nobles, 5,055; shizoku, or knights (formerly retainers of the daimios), 2,167,389; common people, 44,551,830 (including the number of Ainus in Hokkaido, 17,783). On December 31, 1903, the number of Japanese residing in foreign countries was 153,785 of whom 109,643 were in the United States or in U. S. colonies, 29, 197 in Korea, 5,659 in Great Britain or British colonies, and 562 in Russia or Russian colonies. On December 31, 1903, the number of foreigners in Japan was 13,709, of whom 7,423 were Chinese, 2,113 English, 1,624 American, 640 German, 554 French, 176 Portuguese, 89 Dutch, 195 Russian, 120 Swiss. Besides, the population of Formosa was 2,899,586, and that of the Pescadores was 53,448 in 1902. The following table gives the statistics of the births, deaths, and marriages of Japanese at home and abroad for five years : 100,231 Shidzuoka In 1902 the still-births (not included in the above) numbered 156,763 (or 9.5 per cent.), and the illegitimate, 139,052 (or 9.3 per cent.). The following is a list of large towns and cities in 1903 : Nagasaki Sendai . 995,945 Kumamoto 285,002 Sapporo 153,293 Sakai Kanazawa 99,657 Shimonozeki1 46,285 Kochi 35,518 44,188 | Takasaki 35,226 43, 132 Saga 35,083 41,714 Matsuye 35,081 40,248 Awamori 34,857 40,168 Akita 34,350 68,344 Otsu 38,065 Kurumé 33,273 1 Shimonozeki was formerly called Akamagaseki. Religion. By the Constitution absolute freedom of religious belief and practice is secured, so long as it is not prejudicial to peace and order. The chief forms of religion are (1) Shintoism, with 12 sects; (2) Buddhism, with 12 sects and 32 creeds. There is no State religion, and no State support. In 1902-Shinto priests, 83, 471; students, 1,225. Buddhist temples, 71,992; bonze, 116,014; students, 9,276. There were, besides, 1,433 licensed preachers and 1,102 churches and preaching stations of the Roman Catholic, Greek and Protestant Churches. There are shrines dedicated to the eminent ancestors of the Imperial House, and to meritorious subjects; these are independent of any religious sect, and some of them are supported by State or local authorities. the shrines numbered 220,572, and the ritualists, 16,093. Instruction. In 1902 Elementary education is compulsory. The number of children of school age (6-14) on March 31, 1903, was 7,366,504. The following are the educational statistics for 1902-1903 : The expenditure on the schools in 1901-2 amounted to 42,584,194 yen. The two Universities are Tokyo Imperial University and Kyoto Imperial University. The former consists of a University Hall, Colleges of Law, Medicine, Literature, Science, Engineering, and Agriculture; the latter, of a University Hall, Colleges of Law, Medicine and Science and Engineering. They are supported by Government. At Tokyo University in 1902 there were 262 professors and teachers (17 foreigners), and 3,435 students; at Kioto University there were 94 professors and teachers, and 641 students. The bulk of other schools are also supported by Government as well as by local rates. On March 31, 1903, there were 67 libraries in Japan, with 821,670 volumes. In 1902, 22,950 books of various kinds, and 1,328 periodicals, monthly, weekly, daily, were published. Justice and Crime. The A system of justice founded on modern jurisprudence has been established. Judges are irremovable, except by way of criminal or disciplinary punishment. There are four classes of courts in Japan (exclusive of Formosa); namely, subdistrict courts, district courts, courts of appeal, and court of cassation. subdistrict courts (310) are the lowest courts and take cognizance of all petty, civil, and criminal cases. The district courts (49) exercise a more extensive original jurisdiction both in civil and criminal cases, and also a revising jurisdiction over the subdistrict courts. The courts of appeal (7) exercise an appellate jurisdiction over the district courts. The court of cassation (1 in Tokyo), being the supreme court, exercises an appellate jurisdiction over the courts of appeal, and also an original jurisdiction in serious crimes against the Imperial House and State, and in serious charges against members of the Imperial Family. In the court of cassation seven judges preside; in the courts of appeal, five judges; in the district courts, three judges; in each case, one of them being the chief judge. In the subdistrict courts, a single judge presides. A court which deals with disputes respecting administrative affairs is under the direct supervision of the Emperor. The A few judges of high rank are directly appointed by the Emperor, and some are appointed by him on nomination by the Minister of Justice. following are the criminal statistics for five years :-— In 1902 there were 7 central State prisons, 131 local prisons, reformatories (1 at least) in each Fu and Ken. Number of prisoners of all kinds, convicted and accused, and those in reformatories, at the close of 1902 :Men, 53,633; women, 3, 273; total, 56,906. For the trial of cases connected with the military and naval services there are courts-martial. Pauperism. Formerly, for the relief of sufferers from extreme calamities, funds were provided in the central and prefectural governments (except Formosa and Hokkaido). With each prefectural fund the sufferers within that prefecture were relieved; and the central fund compensated the prefectural funds, when more than 5 per cent. were expended in relief. In 1899, however, the central fund was abolished by new legislation, which settled that the minimum amount of the prefectural funds is to be 500,000 yen; that funds below that limit are to be made up by the Treasury; and that when the amount of relief exceeds 5 per cent. of the funds at the beginning of the fiscal year, one-third of the amount thus granted at to be supplied from the Treasury. The relief statistics for 1901 and 1902 show expenditure as follows: The Central Government also grants relief to the extreme poor, to the helpless and friendless; in 1902, 17,063 persons were thus relieved, to the amount of 177,458 yen. In the end of 1902, 2,442 foundlings were being maintained, and the expense in this year was 34,127 yen. There are, besides, several workhouses established by local corporations and private persons. Finance. I. IMPERIAL. The following are the revenue and expenditure (the yen = about 241d.) for five fiscal years, the amounts for the years 1900-1901 and 1901-02 being actual accounts, those for 1902-03 provisional accounts, and those for 1903-04 and 1904-05 estimates: Revenue 1900-01 1901-02 1902-03 1903-04 1904-05 Yen Yen Yen Yen Yen 295,854,868 274,359,049 297,341,348 256,979,920 292,057,872 292,750,059 266,856,824 289,226,731 249,596,156 333,181,230 For 1905-06 the revenue is put at 378,462,797 yen (288,671,369 yen being from taxation), and the expenditure at 210,524,436 yen (179,060, 823 yen being for ordinary purposes). The following is a summary of the budget estimates for the year ending March 31, 1905. War finance stated separately is to the following effect :-On Dec. 28, 1903, an ordinance was published authorising the diverting of funds under special accounts, the issue of Exchequer bonds and the raising of temporary loans for military expenditure. The disbursements thus covered amounted to 156,000,000 yen up to March 30, 1904. In addition, the Diet in 1904 gave authority for raising 380,000,000 yen for war purposes and an emergency fund of 40,000,000 yen. Thus the total receipts and expenditure for war |