Japanese participation in the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups gained significant importance as the two Spring Carnival features have been announced as races to be simulcast by the Japan Racing Association, reports racing.com.

The JRA has previously allowed Japanese punters to only bet on local events but government approval has been given by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to expose the local market to 24 races from around the world.

Five Australian races have been, with the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup to be shown along with the George Ryder Stakes, Doncaster Mile and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, all run in Sydney during the Autumn Carnival.

And while a nomination is significant, it is understood the JRA will only allow betting on the individual race if it involves Japanese participation.

Such participation would then open the opportunity for Australian race clubs to gain a significant financial windfall through a simulcast deal as they would receive 3 per cent of turnover on the race.

The Japanese thoroughbred wagering market is staggering, with turnover in 2015 of US$21.45 billion on 3451 individual races.

Their biggest race of the year, the Group 1 Arima Kinen, held a staggering US$346 million alone.

Melbourne Racing Club Chairman Mike Symons said the announcement is significant for Australian racing.

"It is so big because previously the Japanese have only been allowed to bet on Japanese races," Symons said.

"Even previously when they have had runners here in the Caulfield Cup or Melbourne Cup, they couldn't bet or even watch the race live.

"It would be shown on delay 15 or 20 minutes after the race.

"This will allow us to beam the Australian races live in to Japan and grow our exposure to a new audience."

Symons said it is important that the Australian races are marketed to Japanese standards so that their punters can gain understanding of our best races and horses.

"We will be providing as much form, information and interviews as possible to the JRA and all done to their requirements so we can maximise the turnover on our races," he said.

No Japanese horses have yet been confirmed to be travelling to Melbourne for the Spring Carnival but Symons suggest plenty of work is being done behind the scenes to persuade connections to compete in Australia.

"We've got good dialogue with many leading stables but what we are finding at this point is given that the Yen is very strong against our dollar, the prizemoney on offer for their local races is more lucrative and therefore there is a slight reluctance to travel with their absolute best horses," he said.

"There is interest from their Group 2 and Group 3 horses and they have proven to be more than competitive here in the past."