In recent times, the relations have expanded beyond strong economic and commercial links to other spheres, including culture, tourism, defense and scientific cooperation.

[2] However, the Australian government and business leaders see Japan as a vital export market and an essential element in Australia's future growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.

Japan, for its part, regards Australia as an important partner, a reliable source of energy, minerals and other primary products, a popular tourist destination, a useful conduit to the West and the only other middle-ranking economic power in the Asia-Pacific.

The immigrants worked mostly in the sugar cane and maritime industries including turtle, trochus, trepang and pearl harvesting.

[11] 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".

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.

Relations with Japan were the primary focus of the Australian Eastern Mission of 1934, a diplomatic tour of East and South-East Asia led by deputy prime minister John Latham.

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".

[16] 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).

[19] Despite its distance from Japan, Australia was the BPF's main base and a large number of facilities were built to support the fleet.

[20] Australia's participation in the planned invasion of Japan would have involved elements of all three services fighting as part of Commonwealth forces.

[22] General Blamey signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on behalf of Australia during the ceremony held on board USS Missouri on 2 September 1945.

[24] 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.

In 1957, Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies visited Japan with the aim of strengthening economic and political ties between the two countries.

[28] 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.

[31] 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.

[32] 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).

[33] 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".

[36][37] 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 the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the East Asia Summit (EAS).

[citation needed] Diplomatic relations have come under pressure over ideological differences regarding Japan's scientific whaling program.

[42] Japan's repeated requests that Australia cease its support for Sea Shepherd's violent attacks upon its whaling fleet have been refused.

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.