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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is a remarkable world leader, but her blink-and-you-miss-it visit to Australia proved remarkably uneventful.
Everything about the trip, in both style and substance, was decidedly low-key. This seemed to suit both Takaichi and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese just fine.
There was no joint press conference (at Takaichi’s request, according to Australian sources). There was no speech to parliament, no interviews with local media and no significant policy news. Instead, the leaders released five bland written statements that largely stuck to platitudes and rehashed past announcements.
Even the weather seemed to conspire to make the visit subdued: heavy rain in Canberra meant a ceremonial welcome for Takaichi outside Parliament House had to be scrapped and moved inside.
By all accounts, Albanese and Takaichi got along well and their bilateral meeting ran longer than planned. The pair also dined together at the Lodge on Monday night, no doubt swapping private notes on the big issues of our time, including how to deal with US President Donald Trump.
This is important relationship building that should not be dismissed and could pay dividends later. While Albanese hails from the political left and Takaichi from the right, their shared love of music provides a useful point of connection. In a clever nod to the chaotic state of global affairs, Takaichi, a passionate drummer, gifted Albanese a copy of the album The World’s on Fire by Japanese rock band Man With a Mission.
But it’s a shame Australians did not get to learn more about her and the changing nature of modern Japan before she departed the country on Tuesday morning.
Any visit to Australia by a Japanese leader should be a major event, given the country is the world’s fourth-largest economy and an increasingly powerful military force. Besides New Zealand, Japan is Australia’s most like-minded nation in the Indo-Pacific: the two liberal democracies are United States allies whose views on China have been hardened by economic coercion by Beijing. As Takaichi remarked, the nations have become “quasi allies”, reflected in the historic decision for Australia to buy Mogami-class frigates from Japan to provide a firepower boost for the navy.
Australians have a lot of affection for Japan, and not only as a booming travel destination. According to Lowy Institute polling, nine in 10 Australians trust Japan to act responsibly in the world, a record for any country in two decades of surveys. And Australians have ranked Japan as the country’s best friend in Asia for three consecutive years. Despite this goodwill, the understanding of each other’s cultures remains largely superficial, hampered by a language barrier.
Takaichi’s fascinating personal story could help fix that. Traditional gender roles still dominate in Japan, reflected in low economic participation and parliamentary representation for women. Yet the Margaret Thatcher fan rose from humble beginnings to become the country’s first female prime minister and win a landslide election victory in February. Her hawkish approach to China and desire to rewrite Japan’s pacifist post-war constitution proved a winner with Japanese voters, even if some are alarmed by the direction in which she is taking the country.
Takaichi’s comments to the Japanese parliament last year suggesting Japan could be drawn into a war over Taiwan prompted a fierce reaction from Beijing. While she has not resiled from her remarks, she does not want to anger China unnecessarily. Similarly, Albanese prides himself on stabilising relations with Australia’s biggest trading partner.
If a motivation for the curiously understated visit was to avoid antagonising Beijing, it proved a success. But as a vehicle to deepen Australians’ understanding of a crucial diplomatic relationship and Japan’s trailblazing leader, it was a missed opportunity.
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Matthew Knott is the foreign affairs and national security correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X, Facebook or email.From our partners
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