During the late 19th and early 20th centuries Japanese migrants played a prominent role in the pearl industry of north-western Australia.
They were particularly prominent in the Western Australian Kimberley town of Broome, where until the Second World War they were the largest ethnic group.
Under the guise of national security, 1141 Japanese civilians (almost the entire population) living in Australia were interned for up to six years throughout WWII.
An additional 3160 Japanese civilians arrested in allied countries across the Asia-Pacific Region were also interned in Australia on a user-pay basis; this included 600 Formosans (Taiwanese).
[2] Over half of all Japanese-born residents profess no religious affiliation (69.1%), with Buddhism (17.8%) and Christianity (8.7%) the most commonly identified religions.
There are also weekend supplementary programmes in Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth approved by the Japanese Ministry of Education.