CANBERRA

Australian Policy Towards Japan
As you will see from Mr Eckersley's paper [1], we have done a good
deal to put the Cabinet decision into effect. Progress with the
war criminal problem is particularly satisfactory.

2. The most important single issue is trade. We could and should
have done more were it not for the resistance of other
Departments, notably Trade and Customs Trade is of course a
continuing problem.

3. The other big issues in the next twelve months will be:

(a) Pearl fisheries;

(b) a civil Aviation agreement.

4. The most outstanding (and in my opinion unsatisfactory) lack of
progress to date has been our failure to give Japanese business
men the same rights of entry into Australia as other Asians.

Immigration has adopted a slightly more liberal attitude to this
problem recently but the results are still not satisfactory. The
Japanese may be expected to raise this issue again when talks are
held on trade. The answer depends on the Minister for Immigration
but no doubt he will want to share responsibility with Cabinet.

Since we stand to gain commercially as well as in our general
relations with Japan from a more reasonable policy, it is
suggested that we continue to do what we can to persuade
Immigration to submit a favourable recommendation to Cabinet.

5. I don't see that there is anything that we can do along the
lines suggested by Mr Eckersley in Paragraph 27. [2]