Japan-Australia Relations
Japan-Australia Summit Telephone Talk
September 8, 2020
On September 8, commencing at around 4:30 p.m. for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. ABE Shinzo, Prime Minister of Japan, held a summit telephone talk with the Hon. Scott Morrison, MP, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia. The overview of the talk is as follows.
- At the outset, Prime Minister ABE explained that he was stepping down from his position as Prime Minister and thanked Prime Minister Morrison for his friendship and cooperation. Prime Minister Morrison responded by expressing his appreciation to Prime Minister ABE for being a true friend and for serving as a model for himself and for other world leaders, as well as for providing various insights that deepened his understanding of regional issues. The two leaders recalled laying a wreath together in Darwin and acknowledged that the Japan-Australia relationship was now stronger than ever.
- Prime Minister ABE noted that the two countries have become each other's indispensable security partners in the Indo-Pacific region, and that security and defense cooperation has intensified dramatically in recent years, including joint exercises and measures against ship-to-ship transfers by North Korea. In response, Prime Minister Morrison indicated that both countries fully shared the same mindset regarding the Indo-Pacific region. The two leaders affirmed the importance of Japan and Australia playing a leading role in various fields in the Indo-Pacific region looking ahead to a post-COVID-19 world.
- Finally, the two leaders affirmed their hope that Japan-Australia relations would further develop under Japan’s next Prime Minister and Prime Minister Morrison. Both leaders concluded by saying that they were looking forward to a future reunion.