The Australian Government will continue to urge Japan to reduce those barriers. We are taking a practical approach in our effort to facilitate market entry for Australian companies - this includes seeking mutual recognition of each other's labelling and other standards, and encouraging Japan to adopt international standards and norms wherever possible. In the area of services trade, innovative strategies reaching a broad cross-section of the Japanese market are needed to ensure that Australia becomes a major destination for Japanese tourists. Last year, just 5 percent of the 17 million Japanese who travelled abroad came to Australia. So considerable scope exists for growth, though cheaper destinations will continue to pose strong competition for Australia.
Education is another very important services trade which has significant growth potential.
I am sure the numerous schools and universities represented here today will agree with me about the attractiveness of the Japanese market. Currently, Japanese make up just one sixth of overseas students in Australia. Finally, we must not overlook the importance of Japanese investment in Australia. Japan's direct investment is most prominent in finance and insurance, followed by property, business services and mining. The report shows a trend since the late 1980s away from sometimes speculative real estate deals towards longer-term manufacturing ventures, which now account for 15 percent of Japanese investment here.