She will also become her country's first No. 1 on Monday in the new rankings, replacing Romania's Simona Halep atop the rankings.
The 21-year-old is only the sixth female player in the Open Era whose first two majors came back to back. She joined Chris Evert, Evonne Goolagong, Hana Mandlikova, Venus Williams and, most recently, Jennifer Capriati in 2001.
But it was nervy for a while for Osaka, who defeated Serena Williams in a controversial US Open final in September. Kvitova forced a third set after saving three straight match points at 3-5 yet Osaka recovered to secure the lone break of the decider at 1-1.
Adding to the drama, drops of rain began to fall as Osaka tried to serve out the contest in the third.
Osaka ended Kvitova's eight-match winning streak in finals and her 11-match winning streak overall.
Had twice Wimbledon champion Kvitova -- who remarkably returned to the tennis tour in 2017 after she was stabbed in a home invasion -- prevailed, she would have become the new No. 1.
In Sunday's men's final, the top two in the rankings, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, go head to head.
Djokovic bids for a record seventh crown in Melbourne while Nadal attempts to become the first man in the Open Era to claim each major at least twice.
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