Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean says he is confident the new government in Tokyo will move to police any future over-fishing of the southern bluefin tuna by the Japanese fleet.
In Tokyo for trade talks, Mr. Crean acknowledged that the former conservative Japanese government failed to rein in the over-fishing of tuna, saying Japan was a "big culprit" in taking more than its quota.
He says this hurt Australian fishermen, particularly in the South Australian fishing community of Port Lincoln.
Japan admitted several years ago it had illegally taken more than 120,000 tons of southern bluefin tuna, but the actual figure is believed to be much higher.
Mr. Crean is the first Rudd Government cabinet member to visit Japan since the election of the centre-left government of Yukio Hatoyama.
Last week the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna slashed the global allowable catch by 20 per cent.
Australian fishing operators were hardest hit with a 30 per cent cut in their quota. The Japanese had their take reduced by 20 per cent.
In Port Lincoln there are warnings that the cut to the quota will cost jobs.
Mr. Crean acknowledges that Australian tuna fishermen have a legitimate grievance with the Japanese, saying Port Lincoln in particular was hurt by the inaction of the former conservative government in Tokyo.
"The problem for them was that the previous government did hardly anything to stop the overfishing, and then the other thing that we've got to do is to actively work with those tuna farmers down there, because they've developed a process for breeding bluefin tuna," he said.
"But Japan is heavily into the technology in this field. If we can get some cooperation around that, it might actually be a good news story between Japan and Australia as to how to address this problem going forward."
But before there is any cooperation on tuna breeding between Australia and Japan, old quarrels will have to be resolved and assurances given - namely on the issue of Japanese over-fishing.
Mr. Crean says that with a new centre-left government in power in Japan after decades of conservative rule, he is confident things will change.
"What I'm confident about is the preparedness by this new government to engage intensively and quickly with the Australia Government, a realization by this government in Japan that the relationship with Australia is strong and needs to be made stronger," he said.
"A realization by this government there's a lot we have in common, but a lot more we can do together. I'm certain that together we can find the solutions."
While the Japanese and Australian governments try to find some common ground on tuna, at Tokyo's Tsukiji market dozens of the big fish will sell for top dollar at auction.
The tuna auction in the biggest fish market in the world. Tsukiji has an annual turnover of about $6 billion.
Everyday the market turns over 2,000 metric tons of seafood and tuna remains the most sought after fish of them all.
Some very big money is spent at the sales. Earlier this decade a single tuna sold for $250,000.