The Japan Association of Corporate Executives Ladies and gentlemen Let me say at the outset how pleased I am to be here and to have the opportunity to address such a distinguished business audience. My first overseas visit as prime minister included Japan, three years ago. That would be no surprise to any Australian.
Japan is Australia s largest trading partner, the largest consumer of our exports.
Moreover, since the war we have built a relationship that has developed far beyond our obvious economic complementarity. It is now the most broadly based relationship that Australia enjoys in our region because of shared strategic interests, political cooperation, and the interaction between our societies. It is a model of a relationship between two very different societies and different cultures. It is a relationship with a history that we each in different ways have had to come to terms with. Our bilateral relationship is a mature one with its own momentum.