Malcolm Turnbull will soon be en route to the Japanese capital which is reeling from a Hawaii-style missile warning false alarm amid ongoing tensions with North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
The prime minister will visit Tokyo on Thursday for annual leaders' talks with his counterpart Shinzo Abe.
Japan's public broadcaster NHK mistakenly sent out a warning on Tuesday about a North Korean missile launch urging residents to seek shelter before correcting the error minutes later.
The false alarm comes just days after one in Hawaii.
North Korea fired two ballistic missiles over Japan last year.
Mr Turnbull is adamant economic sanctions remain the best prospect for a peaceful resolution of tensions on the Korean peninsula in the near term.
"Those economic sanctions are starting to bite," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Geelong on Wednesday.
His comments come as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned if North Korea does not negotiate on giving up its nuclear weapons, it could trigger a military response.
"We have to recognise that the threat is growing and that if North Korea does not choose the pathway of engagement, discussion, negotiation then they themselves will trigger an option," he told reporters in Vancouver.
There has been some hint of a detente with North and South Korea holding meetings about the upcoming Winter Olympics.
But Mr Turnbull said the "softening tone" from North Korea was not good enough and he heaped praise on US President Donald Trump for ratcheting up pressure on North Korea.
"They cannot be rewarded for their rogue status and reckless conduct," Mr Turnbull told 2GB.
He and Mr Abe are likely to make progress on finalising a "visiting forces agreement" which will be signed later this year.
Under the deal, Japanese troops could conduct military exercises out of Darwin - almost 76 years since Japanese aircraft bombed the city in World War II.
Trade and investment are also a key focus of the trip.
Mr Turnbull and Mr Abe have been champions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement which is still in limbo.
There were hopes the agreement could be revived at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Vietnam last year, without the US.
However, Canada threw a spanner in the works at the last moment when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau failed to show up to a critical meeting.
"I'm hopeful that the work that our officials are doing, that we can get Canada... to the finish line, in the not-too-distant future," Trade Minister Steve Ciobo told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
But rallying Canada to the TPP party just got more difficult after Canberra uncorked a wine war with Ottawa in the World Trade Organisation.
