The Ambassador of Australia to Japan is an officer of the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian federal government responsible for foreign policy and relations, international aid (using the branding Australian Aid), consular services and trade and inv ...

and the head of the Embassy of the

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The position has the rank and status of an

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

and is based in the Australian Embassy in Tokyo. Peter Roberts is currently filling in as ''Chargé d’affaires''.

Posting history

Japan and Australia have enjoyed full diplomatic relations since 1940 when the Australian

Legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, minister. Ambassadors diplomatic rank, out ...

opened and the first Minister,

Sir John Latham Sir John Greig Latham GCMG QC (26 August 1877 – 25 July 1964) was an Australian lawyer, politician, and judge who served as the fifth Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1935 to 1952. He had earlier served as Attorney-General of Aust ...

, presented credentials to

Emperor Showa Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

in January 1941. The legation in Japan is one of Australia's earliest independent diplomatic missions outside the British Empire, closely following the legation in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

established on 1 March 1940. Latham's appointment replaced the semi-diplomatic work of the Australian Trade Commission in Tokyo, headed by trade commissioner

Eric Longfield Lloyd Eric Edwin Longfield Lloyd MC (13 September 1890 – 18 July 1957) was an Australian army officer, public servant, and diplomat. He was Australia's inaugural trade commissioner to Japan (1935–1940) and later served as the inaugural director of ...

, who was appointed in June 1935. Longfield Lloyd's work, notwithstanding his limited ability to engage with matters outside of trade, was complicated by his vague status as a ' Trade Commissioner', a title that had no formal recognition of diplomatic status. As Australia was the only nation present in Japan that was represented by someone other than an ambassador, minister or consul, it gradually became clear that a higher-ranked appointment was needed. In November 1937, in order to help clarify his position, the term 'Trade' was removed from Longfield Lloyd's title to become the Australian 'Commissioner' in Tokyo. This did not change his diplomatic status however and Latham's appointment in August 1940 was praised as solving this issue: " ongfield Lloydhas been confined almost exclusively to trade matters. In this respect he has rendered excellent service to both countries. The appointment of Sir John Latham, however, to a diplomatic post in Japan is something of far more importance." Full diplomatic relations were severed between December 1941 and 1952 on account of the

declaration of war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state (polity), state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a nationa ...

and the post-war occupation of Japan. In March 1947 a new Minister to Japan was appointed, but rather than being accredited to the Japanese Government they were accredited to the

Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives (alias SCAPIN, SCAP Index Number) to the Japanese government, aiming to suppress its "milit ...

, owing to the

Occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United States wi ...

, and they also served as the British Commonwealth member on the

Allied Council for Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United States wi ...

List of heads of mission

References

External links

Australian Embassy, Tokyo
{{Lists of heads of Australian diplomatic missions

Posting history

List of heads of mission

See also

References

External links