Japan’s ‘iron lady’ PM is a trailblazer, but her Australian visit was a missed opportunity

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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is a remarkable world leader, but her blink-and-you-miss-it visit to Australia proved remarkably uneventful.

Everything about the trip, in both style and substance, was decidedly low-key. This seemed to suit both Takaichi and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese just fine.

There was no joint press conference (at Takaichi’s request, according to Australian sources). There was no speech to parliament, no interviews with local media and no significant policy news. Instead, the leaders released five bland written statements that largely stuck to platitudes and rehashed past announcements.

Even the weather seemed to conspire to make the visit subdued: heavy rain in Canberra meant a ceremonial welcome for Takaichi outside Parliament House had to be scrapped and moved inside.

By all accounts, Albanese and Takaichi got along well and their bilateral meeting ran longer than planned. The........

© Brisbane Times