The Consul-General of Japan in Sydney, Mr Yasuaki Nogawa, will launch a National Archives guide to the records of the Japanese in Australia and the Australia-Japan relationship, at the Museum of Sydney on Friday 26 March 2004 at 12 noon.

The guide has been published by the National Archives to help academics and other researchers locate and use records about Japan in its vast collection of 20 th century government files, photographs and other official documents. Many of the records are in the Archives’ Canberra and Sydney repositories, but each of its state offices also holds quantities of Japanese records.

Titled Allies, Enemies and Trading Partners: Records on Australiaand the Japanese, the guide was compiled by Dr Pam Oliver, Honorary Research Associate of the School of Historical Studies at Monash University. Dr Oliver holds an MA and PhD in History from University of Melbourne in 17 th century British history; an MA in Japanese from Monash University and post-graduate qualifications in Education and Multiculturalism.

The idea for the guide originated from a biography of Hirokichi Nakamura, commissioned and funded through the Vice-Chancellor’s office of Monash University. Mr Nakamura is one of the merchants featured in the guide and his daughter, granddaughter and other descendants will be at the launch.

The guide encompasses government-to-government relations, but a significant part of it concerns the Japanese in Australia, including immigration and intercultural exchanges. The post-war years are well represented in the guide and cover familiar events such as World War II, the occupation of Japan, the Peace Treaty and post-war trade and tourism.

More than half of the guide is devoted to the years before World War II. It demonstrates the great involvement of Japanese people in the development of Australia’s trade with Asia. They developed substantial trading networks that survived until 1941. A large body of over 10,000 records in the Archives collection relates to the Japanese in Australia before 1941 and include company records, entry documents and security service dossiers.

The richness of the Archives collection has sparked a series of conferences and books. The publication of this guide should increase the momentum for Australian-Japanese studies.