Prehistory Anthropologists have noted that Japanese
Jomon skulls and the skulls of
Ainu people (descendants of the Jomon) shared certain physical traits with
Indigenous Australians more than they did with modern
East Asians, like the
Han Chinese or the later
Yayoi Japanese settlers. Fossils found in
Okinawa (dated around 20,000 years ago) were theorized to be closely related to Australia’s
Keilor remains, suggesting a common ancestor in the Pacific region.
Colonial period Between 1635 and 1854, Japanese citizens were in a self-imposed period of isolation from the outside world, which limited their knowledge of it. Australia began appearing on Japanese maps towards the end of the 18th century, which was prior to its colonization by the British. Up until 1794, the Japanese drew Australia as being double its actual size, with
New Guinea still attached. A 1791
Russian map with Australia depicted correctly reached Japan in 1792, and influenced their later maps. This Russian map arrived in Japan through
Daikokuya Kōdayū, who came into contact with Russians in 1783, after getting shipwrecked on
Amchitka Island in the North Pacific (part of
Alaska's
Aleutian Islands, then controlled by Russia). The first recorded import of Australian coal by Japan occurred in 1865, and the first recorded Japanese imports of Australian wool occurred in 1888. The first Japanese person known to have settled in Australia was a merchant who migrated to Queensland in 1871. By the start of the
Australian Federation in 1901, it was estimated that Australia had 4000 Japanese immigrants, mostly based around
Townsville where the Japanese government had established its first consulate in 1896. The immigrants worked mostly in the sugar cane and maritime industries including turtle,
trochus,
trepang and pearl harvesting. The Japanese government established a second consulate in Sydney in 1897, which was upgraded to the status of consulate-general in 1902. In the 19th century and early 20th century, the Japanese used the term
Nan’yō (South Sea) to refer to Australia and neighboring areas such as
Micronesia and
Indonesia. By the 1920s, the term evolved into two distinct subgroupings that divided the space into inner and outer parts: the inner or
UchiNan’yō referred to the Micronesian island groups encompassing
Palau, the
Caroline Islands, the
Mariana Islands, the
Marshall Islands, and the
Gilbert Islands; the outer or
UraNan’yō took on a wider expanse of territory, extending into the Indonesian archipelago and stretching as far as Australia.
Post-Federation (1901–1941) Following the
federation of the Australian colonies in 1901, the new federal government formally enacted the
White Australia policy with the aim of barring non-European peoples, including the Japanese, from immigrating to Australia. Hisakichi Eitaki, the Japanese consul in Sydney, lodged a formal protest to Prime Minister
Edmund Barton over the proposed
Immigration Restriction Act 1901 and asked that Japanese citizens be exempted from the
dictation test requirements as "the Japanese belong to an Empire whose standard of civilization is so much higher than that of
Kanakas, Negroes, Pacific Islanders, Indians, or other Eastern peoples". In 1904, the
Watson government introduced the so-called "passport agreement", whereby Japanese citizens were exempted from the dictation test if they bore a valid passport specifying the purpose and duration of their visits. This arrangement was similar to the
Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 later established between the United States and Japan. In 1905, the
Deakin government passed the
Immigration Restriction Amendment Act 1905, which amended the provisions of the dictation test to remove the reference to "any European language" to "any prescribed language". While the amended legislation did not contain any special provisions for Japanese citizens, it was seen as a concession to the Japanese following the Japanese victory in the
Russo-Japanese War which reinforced Japan's military equality with European powers. However, this was only a minor concession as it "made no difference to the Commonwealth's basic policy of excluding Japanese permanent settlers from Australia". Both countries were among the victorious
allied powers of World War I. At the
Paris Peace Conference, which resulted in the creation of the
League of Nations, Australian prime minister
Billy Hughes strongly opposed the Japanese government's
Racial Equality Proposal. Hughes believed the proposal was a ploy for the Japanese to send migrants to New Guinea (which Australia controlled at the time) as part of their southward expansion efforts. After World War I, the Japanese had gained control of most Micronesian islands from Germany, and Hughes viewed New Guinea as being an important buffer between these areas and Australia. In 1930–31, Japan was "Australia's third most important trading partner". Latham met with Japanese foreign minister
Kōki Hirota in May 1934 and covered a range of topics, including the
Manchurian question and Japanese readmission to the League of Nations. This meeting marked the first direct interaction between government ministers of the two countries and has been described by one writer as "one of the most important in Australian diplomatic history".
World War II (1941–1945) During
World War II, Australian territory was
directly threatened by Japanese invasion, and Japanese forces
attacked Darwin,
Broome, and
Sydney Harbour. Australia represented Japan's southernmost region of operation in the
Pacific theater, which covered an area of the Pacific Ocean extending as far north as the Aleutian Islands. In 1941, the ethnic Japanese population in Australia was interned, and most were deported to Japan at the end of the war. Australian forces played an active combat role in battles throughout the
Southeast Asia and
South West Pacific theater of World War II, most notable events of the war among both parties were the
Kokoda Track campaign and the
Sandakan Death Marches (of which in 2014, the then Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe offered his sincere condolences on behalf of the Japanese people to the Australian Parliament). Australian forces also played a significant role in the post-war
Occupation of Japan.
During the Occupation period Naval Base,
Tokyo Bay. Commander Yuzo Tanno hands over the keys of the Yokosuka Naval Base to Captain Herbert James Buchanan,
Royal Australian Navy. Buchanan led the first British Commonwealth party to go ashore in Japan. The first time a large number of Australians were in Japan was during the postwar
Occupation of Japan. Australians were part of the
British Commonwealth Occupation Force. Around 16,000 Australians served in the force. For the entire length of its history the BCOF had an Australian officer. The Australian contribution to the force was 4,700 infantry, 5,300 base personnel, 2,200 from the
Royal Australian Air Force, and 130 from the Australian General Hospital. The
Royal Australian Navy was also present as part of the
British Pacific Fleet. For two-thirds of the period of occupation the Commonwealth was represented solely by Australians. Australia played a minor role in the
Japan campaign in the last months of the war and was preparing to participate in the
invasion of Japan at the time the war ended. Several Australian warships operated with the
British Pacific Fleet (BPF) during the
Battle of Okinawa and Australian destroyers later escorted British aircraft carriers and battleships during attacks on targets in the
Japanese home islands. Despite its distance from Japan, Australia was the BPF's main base and a large number of facilities were built to support the fleet. Australia's participation in the planned invasion of Japan would have involved elements of all three services fighting as part of Commonwealth forces. It was planned to form a new
10th Division from existing AIF personnel which would form part of the
Commonwealth Corps with British,
Canadian and
New Zealand units. The corps' organisation was to be identical to that of a US Army corps, and it would have participated in the invasion of the Japanese home island of
Honshū which was scheduled for March 1946. Australian ships would have operated with the BPF and US Pacific Fleet and two RAAF heavy bomber squadrons and a transport squadron were scheduled to be redeployed from Britain to Okinawa to join the
strategic bombardment of Japan as part of
Tiger Force. General Blamey signed the
Japanese Instrument of Surrender on behalf of Australia during the ceremony held on board on 2 September 1945. Several RAN warships were
among the Allied ships anchored in
Tokyo Bay during the proceedings. Following the main ceremony on board
Missouri, Japanese field commanders surrendered to Allied forces across the Pacific theatre. Australian forces accepted the surrender of their Japanese opponents at ceremonies conducted at Morotai, several locations in Borneo, Timor, Wewak, Rabaul, Bougainville and Nauru.
Late 20th century ,
John McEwen,
Yasuhiro Nakasone, and
Doug Anthony. Diplomatic relations between Australia and Japan were re-established in 1952, following the termination of the
Allied occupation, and
Haruhiko Nishi was appointed as Japanese ambassador to Australia. In 1957, Australian Prime Minister
Robert Menzies visited Japan with the aim of strengthening economic and political ties between the two countries. In Australia, trade minister
John McEwen led a push for closer economic ties with Japan in the early 1950s, seeing the resumption with trade as important for Australian producers as Australia sought new markets outside the pre-war framework of
Imperial Preference. After years of negotiations, McEwen and his Japanese counterpart
Kishi Nobusuke signed the Japan–Australia Commerce Agreement (JACA) in July 1957, with each country conferring
most favoured nation status on the other and Australia providing a commitment to revoke its Article 35 exception to the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which had allowed it to discriminate against Japan. The removal of the Article 35 exception eventually occurred in 1960 after McEwen secured Japanese concessions on imports of Australian beef. The final discriminatory trade provisions were removed in a new agreement signed in 1963. The JACA "ushered in a new era of Australian trade which would make Japan immeasurably Australia's biggest trading partner". In 1976, Australia and Japan signed the
Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, which established a broad framework of principles to guide and enhance future bilateral relations in the political, economic, cultural and other fields. The treaty was historically significant as the first comprehensive treaty of its kind for both countries. The first proposal for a comprehensive treaty had been raised by the Japanese delegation in May 1970 at the eighth annual meeting of the Australia-Japan Business Cooperation Committee (AJBCC). A more formal request was raised in October at the Australia-Japan Official Level Talks and then reaffirmed by the Japanese Ambassador in
Canberra in 1971 who asked that the prospect of a treaty be "seriously looked at". Formal negotiations took place over a three-year period and encompassed multiple Australian and Japanese governments. By the late 1980s, Australia and Japan had moved beyond a purely bilateral trade relationship to become among the primary architects of Asia-Pacific regionalism, a collaboration that culminated in the 1989 establishment of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. Prior to the formation of APEC, Japanese and Australian leaders had already collaborated on the founding of three previous regional institutions: the
Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC), the Pacific Trade and Development (PAFTAD) forum and the
Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC). The initial public proposal for APEC was delivered by Australian Prime Minister
Bob Hawke during a state visit to
Seoul in January 1989, and given institutional form a mere 9 months later, since becoming a quintessential example of effective Australian
middle power diplomacy. The structural blueprint for the forum had already been co-developed by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). It has been claimed that Japan deliberately chose to act as a "silent partner" in the foundation of APEC, and encouraged Australia to take the lead because a Japanese-led proposal might have triggered regional anxieties regarding Japan's wartime history and economic dominance. APEC initially consisted of 12 countries from across the
Pacific Rim, including Australia,
Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, the
Republic of Korea,
Malaysia, New Zealand, the
Philippines,
Singapore,
Thailand, and the United States. By 1998, it had expanded to 21 Pacific Rim countries, including
China, Russia,
Papua New Guinea and countries in
Latin America. However, no new members have been admitted since 1998, in order to focus on managing the already broad array of countries. A number of Australian politicians have been awarded the
Order of the Rising Sun, the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government. Recipients include former Prime Ministers of Australia such as
Edmund Barton,
Robert Menzies,
John McEwen,
Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke and
John Howard. Australia and Japan have agreed to work together towards the reform of the
United Nations, including the realisation of Japan's permanent membership of the
Security Council, and to strengthen various regional forums, including not only APEC, but also the
ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the
East Asia Summit (EAS).
21st century In March 2007, Australia and Japan signed a joint security pact. The scope of security cooperation includes: • Law enforcement on combating
transnational crime, including trafficking in illegal narcotics and precursors, people smuggling and trafficking, counterfeiting currency and arms smuggling • Border security • Counter-terrorism • Disarmament and counter-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery • Peace operations • Exchange of strategic assessments and related information • Maritime and aviation security • Humanitarian relief operations, including disaster relief • Contingency planning, including for pandemics During the deployment of the
Japan Self-Defense Forces on a
humanitarian and reconstruction mission to
Iraq from 2004 to 2006, Australian units assisted Japanese Special Forces in the protection of Japanese bases. Diplomatic relations have come under pressure over ideological differences regarding Japan's scientific whaling program. In May 2010, Australia started legal action to halt Japanese
whale hunts, despite senior Australian officials and bureaucrats expressing the opinion that the legal action would likely fail. Japan's repeated requests that Australia cease its support for Sea Shepherd's violent attacks upon its whaling fleet have been refused. Although in 2013, Foreign Minister
Julie Bishop stated while on a diplomatic trip to Japan that the
Australian Government does not officially support
Sea Shepherd and disapproves of Sea Shepherd and their violent activities in halting whaling. This turned around in 2013 with the new
Abbott government calling Japan Australia's "closest friend" in Asia, when Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe visited Australia to conclude the
Japan–Australia Economic Partnership Agreement and to address the future of the relationship between Australia and Japan, being the first Japanese Prime Minister to address the
Parliament of Australia. With the new
Turnbull government starting in 2015, Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull made a few changes to the bilateral relationship between Australia and Japan. This included a slight pullback in terms of the recent bid for the upgrade of the
Royal Australian Navy submarine fleet in 2016, which the new government eventually decided on the French bid, therefore resulting in slight outcry from the
Japanese Government; its worth noting that the previous Australian Prime Minister
Tony Abbott had closely hinted for his government to choose the Japanese bid over both the French and German bids. However, Prime Minister Turnbull decided to stimulate values from the previous Abbott government to his government by incorporating themes such as the "closest friend" in Asia. This was seen with increasing bilateral ties in terms of military co-operation, trade, and cultural friendship. In late 2016, Turnbull stopped by on a lighting trip to Tokyo and started to develop a close relationship with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, following his predecessor's example. Abe later visited Turnbull in Sydney early 2017 during a pivot to
South-East Asia, where both increased military, trade, cultural, and sporting ties. Both also discussed the
South China Sea Crisis,
North Korea, and their anxiety to co-operate with their mutual ally, the
United States'
new Trump Administration. In December 2021, Australia and Japan, along with the United States, pledged a new undersea internet cable for the Micronesian countries
Nauru,
Kiribati and the
Federated States of Micronesia. That year, the governments of Australia and Japan also decided to fund two major law enforcement developments in the Marshall Islands. At a virtual summit on 6 January 2022, Japanese Prime Minister
Fumio Kishida and Australian Prime Minister
Scott Morrison formally signed the
Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) - to allow their respective militaries to work seamlessly with each other on defence and humanitarian operations. During the 2022 Australia-Japan leaders meeting in
Perth, Australian Prime Minister
Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to boost Japan's access to hydrogen, LNG and minerals to improve energy security while making a shared push to hit net zero. The two countries have also promised to help other
Indo-Pacific countries in their efforts to combat climate change. Albanese said that there was a common desire shared by Australia and Japan for peace in the Indo-Pacific. He also said that "We concurred that our special strategic partnership has risen to a new and higher level." In 2024 it was announced that members of the Japanese
Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade would be stationed in
Darwin, where they would serve alongside Australian and American forces. In March 2026, Australia and Japan celebrated 50 years of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation. To honor the occasion, Japan's Ambassador to Australia Kazuhiro Suzuki delivered an address at the National Press Club in Canberra, titled "Girt by sea and in the same boat: 50 years of Japan-Australia relations and beyond". On 4 May 2026, Albanese and
Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae signed four agreements in Canberra to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the areas of energy, defence and critical minerals and a joint declaration on economic security cooperation. The critical minerals agreement identified six rare earth strategic projects to diversify supply chains including the
Lynas rare earth project in
Kalgoorlie and
Alcoa's Gallium Recovery Project. The two heads of government also discussed international issues in East Asia, the
Indo-Pacific and the Middle East. == Economic relations ==