Japan PM Takaichi may visit Australia during holiday period from late April

This combined photo shows Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (R, Getty/Kyodo) and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. (Kyodo)

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is considering visiting Australia during Japan’s long holiday period between late April and early May to affirm bilateral cooperation in areas including the stable supply of energy amid the Middle East conflict, diplomatic sources said Friday.

Takaichi is expected to meet with Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, in what would be the first visit to the Pacific nation by a Japanese prime minister since October 2022, according to the sources.

Arrangements are under way for the trip as Tokyo and Canberra mark the 50th anniversary this year of the signing of a bilateral friendship and cooperation treaty. The two countries also face challenges from China, which has used economic coercion in response to bilateral tensions while resource-poor Japan struggles due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran war.

Takaichi hopes to affirm cooperation in areas of economic security, with Australia having significant deposits of critical minerals and rare earths and also being a major provider of liquefied natural gas and coal to Japan.

An agreement on concrete cooperation toward bolstering supply chains for critical minerals is expected to be reached during the envisioned summit meeting, the sources said. The two leaders may also seek alignment in areas such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

In the defense realm, they are likely to affirm the need to enhance joint exercises based on a bilateral reciprocal access agreement that enables faster troop deployment and facilitates joint drills.

Takaichi is also considering visiting Southeast Asia during the so-called Golden Week holiday, the sources said.

As Japan marks 10 years since the launch of the “free and open Indo-Pacific” initiative to promote the rule of law, free trade and stability in the region, an idea has emerged to communicate the evolution of the policy to the international community, they said.

The initiative was first put forward in 2016 by then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi’s mentor, and has gone on to become a central principle in Japan’s diplomacy with like-minded countries in the face of China’s growing assertiveness in the region.