Japanese ambassador takes ‘highly unusual’ campaign against Queensland coal royalty hike to mining forum

Shingo Yamagami has warned Japanese companies could reconsider joint venture projects if the Queensland coal royalty situation is not resolved. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The Japanese ambassador’s continued presence in a campaign by the mining lobby against the Queensland government has been labelled as “highly unusual” by a former Australian diplomat.

The Queensland Resource Council launched a $40m marketing campaign targeting the state government’s new coal royalty regime as part of its annual forum in Brisbane on Wednesday.