A free trade agreement appears closer but whaling was again left off the agenda when Tony Abbott met with Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe at the World Economic Forum.
A day out from his keynote address in Davos, Switzerland, the Australian prime minister on Wednesday continued to meet with world leaders and senior business figures, including Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Bank of England governor Mark Carney.
On the opening day of the four-day event in the Swiss alpine town, Mr Abbott held talks with Mr Abe, but deliberately avoided bringing up whaling in favour of focusing on long-standing free trade negotiations.
Mr Abbot pressed for the successful conclusion to talks that have dragged on since 2007 and, in an encouraging sign of political will, Mr Abe said he would instruct officials to accelerate their efforts.
With free trade negotiations with South Korea concluded and expected to be finalised soon, Mr Abbott wants a similar outcome with Japan.
"I am looking for a win-win deal for the people of Australia and the people of Japan," Mr Abbott told Australian reporters before the meeting.
Judgment is still pending on Australia's challenge to Japan's whaling in the International Court of Justice and it remains a touchy subject.
Mr Abbott also avoided the issue when the pair met at the ASEAN summit in October and he said on Wednesday there was no point going over old issues.
"I take the issue of whaling very seriously but the Japanese well know our position on this and I want to focus today on issues where we can make progress," Mr Abbott said.
"I don't want to just go over old ground."
Mr Abbott did, however, say his predecessor Kevin Rudd's decision to take Japan to court over the issue was "an entirely appropriate way" of dealing with the situation.
Along with his address on Thursday, Mr Abbott will continue with a string of diplomatic meetings that are expected to feature British Prime Minister David Cameron, Israeli PM Benjamin Natanyahu and Swiss President Didier Burkhalter.
He met the Dutch prime minister, Rutte, for the first time on Wednesday, with the pair discussing the economic situation in Europe and acknowledging the contribution and sacrifice of Dutch and Australian troops in Uruzgan province in Afghanistan.
This week's event represents one of the last opportunities for Mr Abbott to engage personally with leaders gathered in one spot before Australia's hosting of the G20 summit in Brisbane in November.
In his address, he will call on G20 nations to avoid "government-knows-best action" and promote sustainable private sector-led growth, as well as stressing the importance of countries working together to solve global and domestic issues.
"On trade, tax, infrastructure, employment and banking, we owe it to our citizens - on whose behalf we attend international conferences - to maximise the specific outcomes from this year's G20," Mr Abbott will tell the gathering of world and business leaders.
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