Ambassador to Japan

Today I announce the appointment of Mr Justin Hayhurst as Australia’s next Ambassador to Japan, commencing in early 2023.

Australia and Japan share a Special Strategic Partnership, with an aligned strategic agenda, strong commercial relations, and enduring people-to-people links.

Japan is Australia's second-largest trading partner, second-largest export market, and third-largest source of imports.

We are close, trusted and active partners in multilateral, regional and in plurilateral frameworks, including the Trilateral Strategic Dialogue, Quad, the East Asia Summit, World Trade Organization and G20.

Our security and defence relationship is critical to both nations and supports regional stability, prosperity and peace, enabled by a bilateral Reciprocal Access Agreement and the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation signed by Prime Ministers this year.

Mr Hayhurst is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was most recently Deputy Secretary of the Geostrategic Group and Australia’s Senior Quad Official.

He was previously First Assistant Secretary International in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Mr Hayhurst has served overseas as Deputy Head of Mission, Beijing, and in the Philippines.

I thank Chargé d’Affaires Peter Roberts for his contributions to advancing Australia’s interests in Japan since July 2022.