Feb 10,2017 Open Forum

Japan’s Russia Policy: Looking Back on 2016 and Ahead to 2017

Building closer relations with Russia was undoubtedly one of the main priorities of Japanese foreign policy in 2016. This was made clear by Prime Minister Abe in his New Year press conference that year when he emphasized the importance of holding regular summits with Russia, thereby indicating that he would proceed with plans for the […]

James D.J. Brown
1956 Joint Declaration , Abe Shinzo , Crimea , East China Sea , Eastern Economic Forum , G7 , G8 , Hikiwake , Kuril Islands , Northern Territories
Dec 28,2016 Alternative Scenarios

Negative Scenario II

The long-awaited December 15-16 Yamaguchi-Tokyo summit appears to have been a failure, which masqueraded as a step forward. That is the conclusion many sources in Japan have drawn, and the most reasonable finding unless one deduces from the remarks of Abe Shinzo and Vladimir Putin that in their 95-minute tete-a-tete with only interpreters present a […]

Gilbert Rozman
1956 Joint Declaration , Abe Shinzo , Eastern Economic Forum , energy , G7 , Hikiwake , Kuril Islands , Northern Territories , Peace Treaty , Putin
Dec 28,2016 Alternative Scenarios

Positive Scenario II

Was President Putin’s visit on December 15-16 a success or a failure? Media coverage seems to have been almost unanimous in Japan and Russia. In Japan, a general sense of disappointment and many analytical articles concluded that the visit proved to be a failure for Prime Minister Abe. In Russia, conversely, a general sense prevailed […]

Kazuhiko Togo
1855 treaty , 1956 Joint Declaration , Abe Shinzo , APEC , Kuril Islands , Northern Territories , Peace Treaty , Putin , Territorial Disputes , Trump administration
Oct 26,2016 Alternative Scenarios

Positive Scenario I

Japan-Russia relations started gaining momentum from the beginning of 2016, and even for optimistic observers of that relationship, the tempo of activation that we see now is amazing. It all started in 2012 when Putin, running to become president again in March, held a press conference just a few days before the election, and said […]

Kazuhiko Togo
1956 Joint Declaration , Crimea , Eastern Economic Forum , four islands in a batch , Hikiwake , Kawana proposal , Putin , Shinzo Abe , Sochi summit , two plus alpha
Aug 02,2013 Open Forum

Negotiations between Japan and USSR/Russia on the Northern Territories: Lessons for the Abe-Putin Renewal of Talks

Many may be so weary of talk about negotiations on the territorial dispute between Tokyo and Moscow as nothing more than a broken record that they will be tempted to skip this article. To catch their attention, I am starting with three bold statements. First, the talks made considerable progress, especially in 2000-2001 under Putin, […]

Kazuhiko Togo
1956 Joint Declaration , Abe Shinzo , Investment , Natural Gas , Peace Treaty , Territorial Negotiations , Vladimir Putin
Jul 19,2013 Topics of the Month

Japan-Russia Relations – 1

Abe’s Visit to Moscow: Can It Become the Beginning of an End? Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s visit to Moscow on April 28-30, 2013, can generally be considered a “success,” which could be a real starting point for Japan and Russia to reach an agreement that has eluded them since the 1950s. Yet failure to act, […]

Kazuhiko Togo
1956 Joint Declaration , Abe Shinzo , Investment , Natural Gas , Peace Treaty , Territorial Negotiations , Vladimir Putin