| Budget Amount *help |
¥6,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥6,900,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥2,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,100,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥2,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,300,000)
Fiscal Year 2002: ¥2,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,500,000)
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| Research Abstract |
The purpose of Japanese direct foreign investment (DFI) in Canada has long been understood mainly to acquire primary products, such as lumber and mineral materials. This is still applicable to the western provinces. However, in Ontario, Japanese DFI has obviously focused on the automotive industries, whose target is the North American market as a whole, since the implementation of NAFTA. Also, during the 1980s and 1990s, Japanese DFI has diversified its objectives including financial and service sectors. It is therefore no more apposite to characterize Japanese DFI in Canada as investment in primary resources. In this research, the environment for DFI in ten provinces except three territories in Canada, and the preference of the Japanese DFI in particular provinces and sectors is carefully studied. Also the effect of the divestment in local economy is illustrated. Prince Rupert, the port in the Pacific Coast, for example, has made various efforts at diversifying trading goods and port utilities.
Canada is the pioneering country of the modern local currency movements, which started in the early 1980s. They are called the Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS), which use special money only in a book-of-account system. Among the fourteen groups, which were interviewed in this research, twelve groups used LETS and similar systems. They focused on non-market transactions and pursued reciprocation among low income citizens. The other two groups used paper currencies (Toronto Dollar, Calgary Dollar). They involved local markets and public sectors, including transportation, trying to pursue the development of local economies. By contrast, no local currency was used in four Maritime Provinces. In these provinces, traditional relationships such as reciprocity and mutual aid are still active. Therefore it is presumed that the motivation to introduce local currencies in these areas is not yet very high.
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