Malcolm Turnbull has joked that Australia's support for free trade has gone too far and the nation might need to consider protectionist measures to safeguard its sporting secret weapons from the Japanese.
The prime minister addressed a business lunch in Tokyo on Thursday, ahead of his bilateral meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
He said that last time he was in Tokyo he had encouraged the two countries to lead the way in strengthening innovation and the free flow of people, capital and ideas.
But he worried the Japanese had taken the message too literally.
"You had already poached our national Rugby coach, Eddie Jones, and turned his ideas and innovations against our Wallabies," Mr Turnbull joked.
"And then not only did you defeat our Socceroos in last year's World Cup qualifier at Saitama Stadium - but our Socceroos coach, Ange Postecoglou, has packed his bags to join the J-League, with the Yokohama Marinos."
Mr Turnbull noted that his assistant had also been poached.
"Now, I believe in a free and open Indo Pacific every bit as much as my very close friend, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but we're going to have to set some boundaries," he said with a laugh.
Mr Turnbull reflected on the foundations of Australia and Japan's close ties dating back to Mr Abe's grandfather Nobusuke Kishi and former prime minister Robert Menzies in the 1950s.
"Our six decades of close and trusting collaboration are etched into the skyline of Tokyo and the landscape of the Pilbara," he said, adding that Australia supplies a large majority of Japan's iron ore demand.
"We will supply a majority of the iron ore and metallurgic coal that will go into the high-quality steel being used to build the facilities for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Olympics."
Mr Turnbull talked up his team work with Mr Abe on keeping the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact alive, following the US withdrawal.
Both leaders are hopeful the agreement could be finalised by March when trade ministers from 11 countries meet in Chile.
