Australia's Trade Minister Simon Crean said Tuesday he is confident that Australia can work with Japan to deal with the problem of overfishing.

Simon Crean, who is in Japan for trade discussions with the new Yukio Hatoyama government, said Japan has been "a big culprit" for overfishing.

He said however Australia can work with it, particularly in the tuna market, Australian Broadcasting Company reports Tuesday.

Australia has to slash tuna intake by 25 percent, while Japan has to cut its catch by 20 percent to help protect the species, the report said.

"What we have to do is to make sure that overfishing problem doesn't continue." However, the former Taro Aso conservative government "did hardly anything to stop the overfishing", Crean said.

"What I'm confident about is a preparedness by this new government to engage intensively and quickly with the Australian government."

Last week's decision to cut the global quota of southern bluefin tuna by 20 percent has angered Australian fisherman, who argue Japan has been overfishing.