Australia and Japan : challenges and opportunities

![CDATA[The last five years in bilateral relations between Australia and Japan have been intriguing. Despite the extraordinary depth of the relationship, a period of drift was discernible between the late 1990s and mid-2002. Japan was (and remains) preoccupied with domestic economic problems, the rising political and economic challenge from China, and taking an active role in the formation of an East Asian Community (EAC). For Australia the preoccupation was closer alignment with the USA. The period since 2002, however, marked a return to intense, and at times frenetic, activity between Australian and Japanese officials. At the governmental level efforts were made to invigorate existing commercial, political/security, and cultural aspects of the bilateral relationship. Three government-sponsored conferences were held (in 2001, 2002, and 2005) with the specific task of energising a wide range of connections at the national level and showcasing the relevance of the bilateral relationship in a changing environment.]]