Japan and Australia agreed Wednesday to consider signing a cooperation pact on antimonopoly policies, a Fair Trade Commission official said.
The FTC and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will further discuss the matter in working-level talks, the official said.
If a bilateral pact is signed, the subsequent exchanges of information would benefit both countries in areas that include cracking down on international cartels, the official said.
Japan has already signed a similar pact with the United States and is expected to do the same with the European Union by the end of the fiscal year.
Negotiations with Canada on a similar agreement have also been launched.