Japan-Australia Relations
Courtesy Call on Prime Minister Kishida by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence of Australia Marles and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia Won
December 9, 2022
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
On December 9, commencing at 10:15 a.m., for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, received a courtesy call from the Hon. Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and Senator the Hon. Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of Australia. The overview of the meeting is as follows. Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan and Mr. HAMADA Yasukazu, Minister of Defense of Japan attended on the courtesy call.
- At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida welcomed the two Ministers’ visit to Japan and expressed his gratitude for the hospitality showed by the Australian side during his visit to Australia in October. Prime Minister Kishida also stated that the visit achieved many results including the new "Japan-Australia Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation," and stated that the holding of the Japan-Australia 2+2 meeting in a timely manner embodied the "Special Strategic Partnership" between the two countries.
- The two sides exchanged their views on regional issues and concurred that Japan and Australia, as the central pillar of the cooperation among like-minded countries, need to lead efforts to realize a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
- The two sides also confirmed that they will further promote security and defense cooperation between Japan and Australia.
- Furthermore, while the importance of resource and energy security has been growing, the Australian side explained that Australia continues to be a reliable trade partner and a secure investment recipient. The two sides concurred that they will continue to further strengthen Japan-Australia cooperation in the fields of resource and energy.