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In 1987, the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) proposed to the Australian Government at a new kind of a city be built in Australia with extensive Japanese involvement. The proposed city was awkwardly called the 'Multifunction Polis' (the MFP).
Description
Vaguely conceived, the city was to feature high technology and 'high leisure' facilities. Its population was to be between 20,000 and 200,000 people. Debate on the MFP has thrown light on a number of ambiguities, which have characterized the Australia-Japan relationship over the past forty years. While Japan has become Australia's major trading partner, interaction between the two societies has not been without some friction. In recent years, speculative Japanese investment in tourism, housing and land development has stirred popular resentment. It has also revealed the extent to which Japanese individuals and firms are able to affect the lives of ordinary Australians. On to the waters of this somewhat ambiguous relationship the plan to build a new city was floated. Christened the 'Multifunction Polis', it was decked out with various brightly colored flags with futuristic slogans, scientific jargon and utopian concepts. When the raft gently drifted into an isolated cove on the Australian mainland, it was immediately 'impounded' and then carefully examined by officials who seemed to be intrigued by what they saw.
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