Press Releases
Japan-Australia Vice Ministers’ Meeting
April 10, 2026
On April 10, commencing at 3:00 p.m. local time (2.00 p.m. on April 10, Japan time) for approximately 3 hours and half, including a break, Mr. FUNAKOSHI Takehiro, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a meeting including a working dinner with his Australian counterpart, Ms. Jan Adams, Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia. The overview of the meeting is as follows:
- Marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Japan and Australia this year, the two sides confirmed their commitment to building on concrete bilateral cooperation across a wide range of fields. Given the current challenging strategic environment, the two sides concurred that they would further strengthen security cooperation between Japan and Australia and pursue closer collaboration in the field of economic security, including supply chain resilience and the energy sector.
- The two sides discussed various challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, shared their views, and confirmed to work together to address these issues.
- The two sides confirmed the importance of further promoting multi-layered cooperation with allies and like-minded countries, including strengthening cooperation with the U.S., the common ally, and reinforcing the network of like-minded countries in the region. They also concurred that Japan and Australia would work closely with regional partners to realize and evolve a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)”.
- The two sides exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East, including the situation in Iran and early stabilization of situations such as securing the safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, and confirmed to work closely together in addressing the situation.