Australian foreign policy towards Japan : weighing the bureaucratic process

Australian foreign policy towards Japan has been based on the strategic importance of Japan to Australia's national interests. To understand how these interests have been addressed and have evolved, particular attention should be directed towards the bureaucratic processes underlying the cultivation of Japanese ties. The role of policy networks, the institutionalisation of the bureaucratic process and the pivotal role of the prime minister is examined here. How these processes and roles have evolved over the past few decades is assessed. The chapter argues that middle-power activism as pursued by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd stretched bureaucratic, resources in Canberra and reduced overall Australian attention on Japan.