Minister for Defence Senator the Hon Marise Payne will visit Japan on 25 August 2016 to meet with her newly appointed Japanese counterpart, Ms Tomomi Inada, Minister of Defense. This will be Minister Payne’s first visit to Japan as Minister for Defence.
Australia and Japan are close regional security partners, sharing strategic interests and common values, including support for a rules-based global order as outlined in the 2016 Defence White Paper. During their meeting, the Ministers will discuss priorities for bilateral defence engagement, regional security challenges, and trilateral defence and security cooperation with the United States.
“The bilateral defence relationship with Japan is one of Australia’s highest priorities for defence engagement. There has been an unprecedented level of cooperation in the relationship over recent years and I look forward to building on this with Minister Inada,” Minister Payne said.
During her visit to Japan, Minister Payne will also meet with a number of Japanese Parliamentarians and Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga.
AUS DoD - Minister for Defence