Japan, Australia Sign Evacuation Cooperation Memorandum

Tokyo, Sept. 5 (Jiji Press)--Japan and Australia on Friday signed a memorandum of cooperation for mutual evacuations of each other's nationals from third countries in emergencies. 
 

The memorandum was signed by Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, after the two countries formally reached an agreement at a so-called two-plus-two meeting in Tokyo, which was also attended by their defense ministers.

Australia became the second nation to sign such a memorandum with Japan, after South Korea.
 

Under the memorandum, Japan and Australia will share information on crisis management and training in peacetime, provide mutual support for evacuating each other's nationals from third nations and offer temporary shelters to evacuees.
 

Although not legally binding, it is positioned as a framework to facilitate practical cooperation in emergencies.
 

The agreement was prompted in part by an event in May 2024, when Australian military transport aircraft helped evacuate some Japanese nationals from the French territory of New Caledonia in the South Pacific, rocked by riots.
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