Our landmark 60th Annual Joint Business Conference was held in Melbourne from 8-10 October 2023 with two days of remarkable insights, collaborations, and the forging of stronger ties between Australia and Japan. We heard addresses from three Ministers, a session on forces shaping the future business environment, and on possibilities for innovation and diversity, and on the energy transition and the workforce of the future.

A 60th anniversary is a huge milestone. In Japan, it marks the completion of a full life-cycle and the contemplation of a new one. In similar vein, our theme,  The Australia-Japan Business Partnership: Looking to the Next Sixty Years, alludes to the successful past, but emphasises that this vital relationship is itself entering a new phase, and our focus needs to be firmly on what comes next.

As we move to the next cycle we will face major challenges relating to geopolitics, energy transition, technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity and demographics. We need to work on these together; but we can’t take for granted that the trust and shared values underpinning our current relationship alone will ensure success. Hard work and vision will be required. New ways of working together, embracing both technology and human ingenuity and diversity, will be vital.

The AJBCC acknowledges the Wurundjeri and Bunurung people, who are the traditional custodians of the land on which the conference will take place, and pays respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging.