Jim in Japan: Treasurer to sell Australia as a safe bet in two-day Tokyo blitz

Treasurer Jim Chalmers will hold a series of high-level meetings with Japanese investors and business leaders in Tokyo this week, as the government attempts to sell Australia as a safe harbour for middle-power investment amid an increasingly uncertain global economy.

The Labor minister will market Australia as a renewable energy powerhouse and artificial intelligence leader, and highlight the $4.8 trillion superannuation system as a “deep pool” of capital, while also chairing a housing roundtable with leaders in Japanese residential development.

“If investors want to make the most of the defining decade ahead, nowhere offers more opportunities than Australia. We’re making Australia an indispensable part of the transformation underway in the global economy, and we’re telling the world’s investors why they need a piece of the action,” Chalmers told this masthead.

The trip comes after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last month used an address to the United Nations to declare the post-1945 international order “no longer fit for purpose”, forcing middle powers such as Australia to build new partnerships while defending the international rules-based order.

Albanese’s comments echoed those of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who in a historic rallying cry to the Australian parliament in March called for middle powers to unite or face subordination to bigger nations.

During the two-day blitz, Chalmers is set to meet more than 30 CEOs, business leaders and investors from Japan’s largest firms, offering a five-pillared pitch of Australia’s “unique” investment advantages. The Treasurer will meet with Kenichi Hori, head of Mitsui & Co., one of Japan’s largest conglomerates and Juro Baba, executive vice president of Mitsubishi Corporation.

Chalmers will pitch Australia as a resource leader for green energy and critical minerals, arguing that domestic renewable electricity production will be able to compete with traditional hubs such as the Middle East and Russia by 2050.

The focus on Australia’s reliability and resources comes amid a time of tumult for the two nations, after the unveiling of a domestic gas reservation policy that rattled Japan as the primary importer of Australian gas.

Australia provides around 40 per cent of Japan’s LNG, which supports a significant portion of the country’s energy generation.

Following the policy’s announcement, officials from Japan, South Korea and Malaysia – major consumers of Australian LNG – lodged appeals through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade seeking certainty over contract protections.

A modified version of the reservation plan to take effect from January 2028 will require  liquefied natural gas shippers face a requirement to reserve up to 20 per cent of their export volumes for local customers.

The policy is designed to force a 10 per cent domestic oversupply each year to push down the cost of the fuel. The policy has since been softened to ensure the oversupply is “modest”, quelling concerns from Asian trading partners.

Albanese was also caught in a faux pas after his appearance on a podcast in which he joked about melons gifted to him by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The Japanese embassy in Australia later downplayed the incident, and the leaders posed for a picture together last month at the United Nations.

Part of Chalmers’ pitch in Japan will highlight the stable investment capacity of the nation’s superannuation pool, and Australia’s embrace of artificial intelligence and data centres.

“This is all about boosting investment in Australia, bolstering supply chains and economic resilience, and strengthening our relationships in Asia. As a reliable, responsible middle power with strong economic foundations and huge advantages in areas like energy, AI and critical minerals, Australia is an attractive investment destination,” Chalmers said.

“Whether it’s our resources or renewable energy, our skills or our stability, Australia has exactly what the world needs when the world needs it.”

Alongside meetings with counterparts and business leaders, Chalmers will host two roundtables on Monday. The first will take in investors and asset managers from Japan and Australia, while the second will focus on residential development including novel construction methods that could support increased supply in Australia.

The trip to Japan will be the first of three stops the Treasurer will make this month in Asia, ahead of a trip to Bangkok to meet with G20 finance ministers on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings. Chalmers will also meet with Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation counterparts in Hong Kong.

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