Efficacy of the Policy of Increased Production
in Wartime Taiwan – an Analysis Focused on
Industry
Kao, Shu-Yuan
∗Abstract
The Policy of Increased Production was adopted by Japan in response to the military needs, which attempted to further heavy chemical industry. In Taiwan what constituted the main part of this policy was those industries already set up or developed for a long time with a firm basis, such as aluminum, industrial salt, ethyl alcohol, pulp and others. Those new industries that were set up in wartime included nickel, magnesium and others of heavy industry, as well as caustic soda, pig iron, acetone and butanol. Most of the those industries were “electrical industry” that would use a large amount of electricity. Japanese ruler in most cases, expanded those already set up, while the scale of increase remained limited. In addition, this plan of increased production was to serve the whole Japan and the increase in Taiwan had its limitation even at the planning stage, such as paper-making and soda industry. To make the picture more complicated, when the plan was executed, Taiwan was in the war which caused the supplies of materials deficient and this offected the efficiency of the policy efficacy of the policy.
∗
Nevertheless, what had achieved by this Policy of Increased Production added up heavy industry and chemical industry to the general industry of Taiwan. It is caustic soda, pig iron, butanol and acetone (which was turned into solvent) in particular and those made more variegated the industrial production in Taiwan.
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