Australia’s relations with Japan were profoundly influenced by the transformation of the international system that gathered momentum during the 1980s, by the changing pattern of US–Soviet rivalry, the deepening socio-economic crises confronting both superpowers, the consolidation of multipolarity, the strengthening of the EC, the emergence of other regional trading blocs, shifts in global comparative advantage, the continued rise of protectionist pressures, and the restructuring of the world’s major economies. The Australia–Japan relationship was also affected by the evolution of Washington’s ties with its major Northeast Asian ally. Between 1982–87, as US–Soviet tensions escalated, the Reagan administration sought to consolidate the United States’ strategic position in the Western Pacific, reverse the prolonged decay of the San Francisco system and reduce the staggering American regional trade imbalance though negotiation of a special relationship with Tokyo.