GROWTH OF POSTAL SAVINGS DEPOSITS
(Prepared by the Cabinet Information Bureau from the Latest Report of the Savings Deposit Bureau.)
A RED letter day in Japan was July 11, 1939, when postal savings deposits passed the 5,000,000,000 yen mark.
It was in May, 1875, that the Postal Savings Deposits System was established, under an Imperial Ordinance promulgated in August, 1874. The pyramid of 5,000,000,000 yen finally has been built up with the money saved by the toiling people during the past 64 years.
The amount of postal savings on deposit at the time of the Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905) was but 30,000,000 yen, and it was the earnest desire of those in charge of the undertaking to attain the goal of 100,000,000 yen for postal savings.
It took 48 years to pass the 1,000,000,000 yen mark, which was achieved in 1923. Seven years later, the amount exceeded 2,000,000,000 yen. Another five years passed and it reached 3,000,000,000 yen in 1935. By the end of 1938, three years later, the 4,000,000,000 yen mark was reached. The 5,000,000,000 yen goal was attained only six months later.
Two years have elapsed since the beginning of the China Affair and Japan is determined to bear the burden for the attainment of its ultimate purpose.
The aim of the Government for the 1939-1940 fiscal year is to build up national savings to a total of 10,000,000,000 yen, of which 6,000,000,000 yen is to be diverted to the absorption of public loans and 4,000,000,000 yen will be used for capitalization in the program for the expansion of productive power in Japan, Manchoukuo and China. It is essential that this amount be available by the end of March, 1940, and it must be set aside through the combined efforts of the Government and the people. The first three months of the fiscal year witnessed an increase of 330,000,000 yen in postal savings deposits. If the rate of increase is maintained to the end of the present fiscal year, March 31, 1940, the nation will go over the top with plenty to spare, attaining the aim toward which the authorities are directing all their efforts.
During the last fiscal year, postal savings increased by 815,000,000 over the previous fiscal year. This increasing tendency has continued during the current fiscal year, total savings reaching 4,800,000,000
yen in May and 4,900,000,000 yen in June. In particular, the increase in the 10,000,000,000 yen savings campaign week was most conspicuous, thus attaining to the 5,000,000,000 yen mark on July 11. It was on July 8, 1938, that the amount of postal savings passed the mark of 4,000,000,000 yen level. The accumulation of the additional 1,000,000,000 in just three days short of a year is shown in the table below:
INCREASE OF POSTAL SAVINGS DEPOSITS IN THE PAST TWO YEARS
| At the end of | Depositors | Index numbers | Amount in yen | Index number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July, 1937 | 51,522,249 | 100 | 3,576,445,129 | 100 |
| December | 52,870,697 | 103 | 3,685,691,979 | 103 |
| June, 1938 | 56,746,436 | 110 | 3,982,708,685 | 111 |
| December | 71,783,277 | 139 | 4,374,838,002 | 122 |
| January, 1939 | 72,780,926 | 141 | 4,523,035,712 | 126 |
| February | 73,539,787 | 143 | 4,563,556,883 | 128 |
| March | 74,039,274 | 144 | 4,613,971,754 | 129 |
| April | 74,788,895 | 145 | 4,670,244,687 | 131 |
| May | 76,291,953 | 148 | 4,846,757,441 | 136 |
| June | 77,217,277 | 150 | 4,943,779,740 | 138 |
| July (11th) | 77,737,659 | 151 | 5,001,088,759 | 140 |
It goes without saying that the purpose of postal savings primarily is for stabilization of the economic life of depositors. At the same time, however, the money constitutes an important part of the resources of the Treasury Deposit Bureau, and is utilized, by law, solely for investment in national and public enterprises. Under the current emergency, it is used especially for absorbing national loans. The mass of the people thus are taking part, with their savings in post offices, in the work of carrying out current national financial and economic policies.