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Victoria's Minister for Racing Martin Pakula has met with leading Japanese trainers, jockeys and owners in Tokyo as part of an international event highlighting Victoria’s racing industry.

Sponsored by the Andrews Labor Government, the 2015 Australian Horse Racing Industry Promotion brought Australian and Japanese racing leaders together to showcase the best of their respective industries.

Australian race organisers and leading bloodstock auction houses attended the event in a bid to boost equine related trade between the two countries.

Australia’s Ambassador to Japan Paul Miller also attended and thanked Japanese horse owners for their ongoing support of the Victorian Spring Racing Carnival.

Australia and Japan have a shared history of competing in each other’s premier races, with two Japanese owned horses, Hokko Brave and Fair Game, participating in this year’s Spring Racing Carnival.

In 2006, Japanese trained pair Delta Blues and Pop Rock ran first and second in the Melbourne Cup.

In 1990, Victorian trained horse Better Loosen Up won the Japan Cup, the only international thoroughbred to have done so.

“This industry event is a fantastic opportunity to highlight Victorian racing and promote equine trade between Victoria and Japan,"Pakula said.

“We share a long history of competing in each others’ premier races and this event will help strengthen those relationships for the future.”