ABSTRACT
The theme of this chapter concerns the role played by Japanese companies in Australian industry. Specifically, it focuses on the small group of Japanese corporations which have established manufacturing subsidiaries and resource processing plants in Australia during the last twenty years or so. An attempt is made to scrutinize their operations and to assess the implications for Australian economic development. Following on from an overview of current patterns of Australia-Japan trade and investment, two case studies are given. These aim at illustrating certain characteristics of Japanese corporate behaviour in Australia in the 1980s, together with the problems involved in obtaining adequate technology transfer and local economic spin-offs. The chapter finishes with an evaluation of recent proposals from Japan to build a ‘multifunction polis’ in Australia-a technology-based satellite city with resort, leisure, and cultural components.
