Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi visited Australia to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation. However, all eyes were set on the future as Prime Minister Albanese and his Japanese counterpart signed four separate deals, including statements on energy and critical minerals cooperation, defense and a goal of boosting economic stability.
Ties between the two countries have steadily deepened in matters of security and energy over the last few decades. While Australia provides a large share Japan’s liquefied natural gas and coal, Japan is one of Australia’s top five suppliers of refined gasoline and diesel. With the waves caused by the conflict in Iran, there was a growing need for these two allies to come together and work towards ensuring stable energy supplies and strengthening supply chain resilience in the Indo-Pacific region.
The new bilateral minerals commitment is another big talking point. The deal could help move away from single source dependency, with China being one of the largest players in critical mineral processing.
The Wire’s Shaun Dourado spoke with Ryosuke Hanada, an International Relations researcher at Macquarie University. We asked him to contextualize the big takeaways from Sanae Takichi’s visit to Australia.
Image: Image: Shutterstock – iunewind
Produced By: Shaun Dourado
Featured In Story: Ryosuke Hanada, PhD researcher in School of International Relations, Macquarie University
First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 6 May 2026