After declining for much of the last two decades, the number of Japanese tourists coming to Australia is once again growing strongly, even outpacing arrivals from neighbouring China.

Despite being less than half the peak reached in the late 1990s, official figures show arrivals from Japan grew by 24 per cent to 382,000 last year and the federal government is now seeking to nearly double the value of this market by 2020.

But the Japanese are notoriously fickle and in an effort to consolidate this new found growth, Trade, Tourism and Investment and Minister Steve Ciobo is in Tokyo this week meeting with airlines and tour operators.

The number of Japanese tourists grew by 24 per cent to 382,000 in 2016. Dominic Lorrimer

He's hopeful of new airline capacity being added this year out of Japan, as the economy enjoys a moderate pick-up, fuelled by a construction boom ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, strong exports and an increase in consumer spending.

"I'm very focused on holding onto those gains," Mr Ciobo said in Tokyo on Tuesday.