of the great
feudal princes depended on the strength of his army. The Continental
system of conscription was adopted and still obtains. All Japanese
males between the ages of 17 and 40 are liable to military service.
The Service is divided into Active, Landwehr, Depot, and Landsturn
services. The Active service is divided into service with the colours
and service with the first reserve. The former is obligatory for all
who have reached the full age of 20 years, and such service is for a
period of three years. Service in the first reserve is compulsory for
all who have finished service with the colours, and lasts for a period
of four years and four months. The Landwehr reserve is comprised of
those who have finished the first reserve term, and it continues for a
period of five years. The Depot service is divided into two sections.
The first, which lasts seven years and four months, is made up of
those who have not been enlisted for Active service, while the second,
extending over one year and four months, consists of those who have
not been enlisted for first Depot service. The Landsturn is in two
divisions--one for those who have completed the term of Landwehr
service and the first Depot service, and the second for all who are
not on the other services. This system of conscription, of course,
lends itself to criticism, and it has been criticised by the military
experts of great military nations, but on the whole it has been proved
by the experience of the two wars in which Japan has been involved
during the last twelve years to have worked well, and it probably
answers as well as any system that could be devised, the needs of the
country, and the characteristics of the people thereof. The Japanese
are, as these recent wars amply demonstrated, patriotic to a degree.
They not only have great powers of perseverance, but great capacities
for assimilation and adaptation, and are considered by many military
authorities probably the very best raw material in the world out of
which to make soldiers. Conscription may not be an ideal system for
any country. It is, of course, better from one point of view that the
armed forces of a nation should voluntarily enlist rather than be
pressed men. But conscription in Japan has never been, and is not
likely to be, such a burden as is the case among some European
nations. The Japanese idea of patriotism is something totally
different to that which obtains in the West. The late war afforded