ABSTRACT
The major aim of this book has been to explain the interaction between Japan and Australia in terms of patterns of Japanese investment, together with the operations of Japanese companies in this country. Links between the two countries have been shown to be much more complex than the international ties normally associated with overseas investment in manufacturing, which is the transnational activity portrayed most in the literature. Japan’s economic integration with Australia cannot be adequately measured simply by direct foreign investment as the giant sōgō shōsha, for example, together with Japanese banks and security companies, have played a role not quantifiable by direct-foreign-investment statistics alone. The approach taken in this research therefore contrasts with many earlier studies of foreign investment as it encompasses integration between Japan and Australia through both trading and financial activities. Moreover, it has focused upon subnational variations in TNC activities, and also stressed the importance of examining their operations within specific situations over time.
