Community Currencies in Japan

This text starts with a brief history of community currencies in Japan and the social background which gave rise to this social movement. It looks at the characteristics of CCs in Japan, specific cases in Kyushu, and problems to be solved. In conclusion, the author notes that Japanese CCs have developed their own style which cannot be found in any other area in the world, such as their diversity, specific social goals and their stress on mutual help. But the lack of the concept of autarchy makes CCs only effective in the domain of social services, and their unwillingness to communicate with each other makes them isolated, preventing them from improving their system by sharing the wisdom acquired in other cases.