Chapter 227: East Africans who lack great virtue
The Far East was a huge market, and Japan at the same time was an emerging market. It was also an important source of immigrants and grain trade market for the East African Kingdom in the Far East.
In order to express its importance to Japan, the East African Kingdom established diplomatic relations with the Japanese government on the second day after it established diplomatic relations with the Qing government.
The general manager of the Hechingen Bank branch in Japan, Sebastian served as minister to Japan, and East Africa set up a number of consulates throughout Japan.
After the Meiji Restoration in Japan, the Japanese government began to develop industry on a large scale. However, developing industry requires a lot of funds. The Japanese government had two ways to raise funds: one was to borrow from the West and domestic big businessmen, and the other was to engage in extreme exploitation at home.
Japanese women and farmers were the hardest hit, and the Meiji government encouraged women to work in textiles and other fields. At the same time, the second largest industry for Japanese women was the "special service industry."
With these conditions, East Africa certainly could not miss it. After sending diplomatic envoys, it more blatantly introduced female immigrants from Japan.
The Meiji government first invested in light industries such as silk and cotton, and hired foreigners to guide industrial production. However, industrial modernization projects require a large number of workers, especially the textile industry, which requires a large number of female workers. However, they encountered difficulties in recruiting workers. Recruiting workers in rural areas was not smooth, and farmers' daughters were reluctant to leave their villages. Therefore, a nationwide government propaganda campaign was aimed at persuading women to work in factories. In order to achieve the purpose of propaganda, some local officials first sent their daughters to work in factories. When the government's demonstration effect became apparent, many people regarded factories as a safe place.
This facilitates the introduction of immigrants to East Africa. The method of introducing Japanese female immigrants to East Africa is very simple: invest in establishing textile factories in Japan, specifically recruit female workers, and then arrange for them to work in "Europe" in the name of internal transfers within the company.
What followed was a wave of crazy operations. Ships heading to "Europe" would often "crash" at sea due to problems such as wind and waves, piracy, etc., and not often they would lose as many as 1,800 people in one trip.
The factory owner then came forward to express sympathy for the "shipwreck" and said he would pay a symbolic pension to the Japanese authorities for processing. As for whether it could be paid to the victim's family, East Africa did not care.
"Shipwreck" is force majeure, so the Japanese government has no way to say anything. In addition, Japan's international status is low now, so they will naturally not pursue it. I have already given compensation, what else do you want?
There are disadvantages to doing this. Shell companies set up in East Africa often move to another place after making a move. The next time, another group of people will continue the scam. The excuses are ready-made. The previous factory owner went bankrupt due to huge losses in a shipwreck, and the factory was acquired because it was insolvent.
As for taking the blame, the East African Kingdom cannot be blamed. They are all investors from Germany and even European countries. When asked where they are from, they are Poland, Ukraine, Tsarist Russia, Italy, and even countries that existed in the Holy Roman Empire and have now disappeared.
The second is to buy directly from Japanese farmers. That's right, buy. In this era, the status of Japanese women was extremely low and they had no human rights at all. When many Japanese people could not even afford to eat, they could only choose to sell their daughters. After all, boys had to be kept to carry on the family line.
This is also the current situation in Japan. The East African Kingdom can buy a large number of them at a price slightly higher than the Japanese market, and pay directly with food. This is also a win-win situation. After the Meiji Restoration, the second largest employer of women after the textile industry is the "special service industry." The Meiji government criminalized abortion and infanticide, so when famine and crop failures came, many families in rural areas would sell girls to the "special service industry."
Therefore, during the Meiji period, the "special service industry" surpassed the Tokugawa shogunate period not only in quantity but also in growth rate.
The East African government exchanges food for Japan's surplus population, so their families can make a living with the food, and these women do not have to engage in "special service industries", so everyone has a bright future.
Although what East Africa did was rather unethical, there are naturally ways to make the Japanese government turn a blind eye.
Although the textile factory is an old player, there is also a group of regular women who have been working there. They can earn money from it and send it home. At the same time, the salary is slightly higher than that of the Japanese textile industry at the same time, and is never in arrears, so it can be regarded as a fixed income. With stable employees, there is naturally output, and this part of the tax is cheaper for the Meiji government of Japan.
As for the disappearances caused by the shipwreck, we can only express regret. With the cooperation of these stable employees, there will still be "simple" people who will enter the factories invested in East Africa to work next time.
It is not easy to become a stable employee. Wages in Japan's textile industry are extremely low, and it was not until 1880 that Japan set a minimum wage. Even so, many people did not get paid.
The factories invested in East Africa have such excellent treatment in Japan, so the stable employees are naturally of high status, and most of them have connections with local Japanese officials.
This echoes what was said earlier. In order to trick women into working in factories, Japanese officials sent their own women to work in factories as a demonstration.
…
"Mr. Sebastian, thank you for your help!" A group of Japanese officials in Tokyo bowed at a standard 90-degree angle.
"Hahaha, this is what I should do as a diplomat," said Sebastian.
Just now, Sebastian, the "justice" envoy of the East African Kingdom, obtained a pension on behalf of the local government from the brutal "Tsarist Russian" merchants.
Tsarist Russian government: I don’t know! Which country’s businessman?
The trained East African Slavic immigrants were very good at pretending to be Tsarist Russian merchants. Even Tsarist Russian diplomats could not detect their tricks. After all, they did not look like acting. They spoke fluent Russian, had a detailed knowledge of Tsarist Russia and had good conversation. They looked like the real thing no matter how you looked at them.
In particular, his carefree personality filled the final loophole. When Japanese employees of factories run by "Tsarist" businessmen "died" overseas, the local government must of course intervene.
As a result, after the cause of the shipwreck was revealed, the problem was not solved. As a major country in the world, the merchants of "Tsarist Russia" naturally did not tolerate it. This was force majeure, force majeure, force majeure! ...
He then threatened to beat out this group of unreasonable Japanese troublemakers. "Coincidentally", Sebastian, the East African Kingdom's ambassador, who was out "buying" breakfast, passed by. So Sebastian, who was full of "sense of justice", severely reprimanded the "Tsarist Russian" merchants for their actions.
Finally, with Sebastian's mediation, the two sides shook hands and made peace, and the "Tsarist Russian" merchants paid a pension as compensation, and the matter was over.
"Cesan is a good man, a true gentleman."
"Yoshi, if only all foreigners in Tokyo were as reasonable as Sesan."
"Saisan dared to face the Russians and even scolded them in person. In the future, the Yamato people must also stand up straight like this..."
"Your Majesty, please get on board! We will definitely implement..."
(End of this chapter)
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