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Prime Minister Kevin

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama

The 2009 Kevin Rudd visit to Japan was a state visit by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to Japan in December 2009. Rudd's trip occurred with the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament report being released. Mr. Rudd issued a legal threat to Japan to stop whaling or face legal action. He said it wasn't scientific hunting.

Japan is Australia's largest export market. Rudd met his Japanese counterpart, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. Rudd's office said it would "underline the government's commitment to strengthening economic and trade ties between Australia and Japan."

Agenda

Prime Minister Rudd visited Japan on Tuesday 15 December 2009. Meetings were planned between Rudd and Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama as well as an address to a business audience on the Australian economy. Rudd also planned to meet the Japanese foreign minister. Japan is Australia's largest export market and a major investor in Australia. On Rudd’s agenda was to discuss strategy to the Copenhagen climate change meeting, military cooperation, and nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. Rudd’s visit preceeded his trip to the Copenhagen climate change meeting.

Military cooperation

In 2007, Japan and Australia signed a defence pact which was only the second such pact signed by Japan, the first being a mutual defence treated with the United States. Among Rudd's agenda for the trip was military cooperation. Revisions to be made to the action plan for security cooperation between Japan and Australia were discussed between Rudd and the Japanese foreign minister. It was agreed to strengthened logistics cooperation between the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Australian military. A 3rd Japan-Australia Joint Foreign and Defense Ministerial Consultation meeting was planned for 2010.

Whaling controversy

Prior to the visit, Rudd threatened legal action against Japan for whaling, while the Japanese government defended the practice as part of it’s heritage. Rudd said, as reported by the Singaporean and French press, which is not Australian nor Japanese, "If we cannot resolve this matter diplomatically, we will take international legal action. I've said that before, I'm serious about it," The hunt for whales, using the excuse of research, takes place near Australia. When Rudd met the Japanese Prime Minister, whaling was discuss and was a sticking point according the ABC News. The issue was notable because some Australian accuse Rudd of “crying wolf” (actual quote) and doing nothing about the whaling issue, which takes place off Australia.

History of Australian and Japanese whaling controversy

Whaling by Japanese has origins in the 12th century. Expansion of Japanese whaling to Antarctic waters using mother-ship and Norwegian (harpooning) techniques started in 1934, though other countries hunted in Antarctic waters as early as 1905. Australia ended its whaling industry in 1978 and the Australian government has been a leading advocate of conservation. A moratorium on whaling by the International Whaling Commission, an international organization whose member states include Australia and Japan, began in 1986 though whaling done for research and scientific purposes are among the exemptions. The meat obtained from such whaling has been sold as whale meat in Japan.

Australian measures to ban whaling has included establishment of the Australian Whale Sanctuary in waters surrounding the Antarctic. Japan does not recognize such Australian territorial claims. Controversy between Australia and Japan over whaling has included the boarding of a Japanese ship by protesters, including an Australian, and subsequent locked detention of the protesters aboard the boarded ship.

During the last campaign, the Labour Party and Rudd made whaling a campaign issue. Rudd promised to use measures to end Japanese whaling. Rudd has been accused of being defeated in the issue and capitulating to the Japanese in 2008 when he dropped the issue. Rudd’s 2009 trip marks a resurgence and renewed fight against Japanese whaling by threatening legal action prior to the trip and making the issue a major point of discussion during the December 2009 visit to Japan. Hatoyama’s stance to Rudd was to state that whaling by Japan is authorized.

United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen

On Rudd's agenda was to discuss strategy with the Japanese government for United Nations Copenhagen Climate Change summit, which he attended immediately after the Japan visit. At the meeting, he proposed cuts in greenhouse emissions but the Guardian (UK) reports that his concessions were "smoke and mirrors" due to the method of accounting.

Joint Japanese Australian Nuclear Proliferation Report unveiled

Upon arrival, Rudd was presented a report from the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND), which is chaired by a Japanese and Australian. Nuclear talks occurred during the visit. The Japanese Prime minister described the the report as a guidebook for world peace.

The report, the most comprehensive of its kind yet produced, is the unanimous product of an independent global panel of fifteen commissioners coming from nuclear powers such as Pakistan, India, the People's Republic of China, Russia, United States, France, United Kingdom and former nuclear power South Africa. However the commission members are technically not representative of their governments.

Rudd and the Japanese foreign minister were to discuss nuclear proliferation and the two governments plan to spur international discussion. Several international meetings are planned for 2010, including the Nuclear Security Summit, the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Continued contact between the two countries regarding the Iranian nuclear issue was also part of the agenda during the visit.

Speech to business group

Rudd spoke to a Japanese business group about the Australian economy.