Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae is expected to discuss energy security with her Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese on Monday.
She is scheduled to visit Australia from Sunday on the second leg of a five-day tour of Vietnam and Australia.
Australia is Japan’s largest supplier of liquefied natural gas, and also imports light gas oil refined in Japan.
At the meeting, the leaders are expected to issue a joint statement affirming cooperation to ensure uninterrupted energy supplies and avoid unjustified export restrictions.
They are also expected to affirm cooperation on Australia’s critical minerals.
During her visit to Vietnam, Takaichi met with Prime Minister Le Minh Hung on Saturday.
The two leaders agreed to cooperate to help Vietnam procure crude oil, enabling Japan to secure petroleum-derived medical products from the country.
They also agreed to deepen cooperation in economic security, including critical minerals and artificial intelligence.
In a speech at a university, Takaichi outlined Japan’s foreign policy, highlighting the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. She stressed the need to respond to the current global environment and cited key priorities, including strengthening the resilience of energy supply chains.