Apr 26,2017 National Commentaries

Japan-Russia-US Triangle

With the advent of the Trump administration, would not, first, Russo-US relations improve, allowing Japan to make progress in negotiations on the Northern Territories with Russia? Until early this year, within the Japanese government, there were expectations of this sort. However, from just before the Trump administration took office on January 20, doubts began floating […]

Omae Hitoshi*
1956 Japan-Soviet Union Joint Declaration , Crimea , Economic sanctions , Japan-US Security Treaty , joint economic activity , Northern Territories , Peace Treaty , Syria
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
Sep 17,2013 Topics of the Month

Japan-Russia Relations – 3

This is a quiet time in Japan-Russia relations without any indication of a transformative event ahead. Further contacts are arranged without drawing much attention. We need to look elsewhere for indications that conditions may be building for some sort of change. For that, I scrutinize Alexander Panov’s rejoinder, while also reflecting broadly on the evolving […]

Kazuhiko Togo
Abe Shinzo , Alexander Panov , Irkutsk agreement , Kunadze interview , Peace Treaty , Sato Masaru , Shigeta Hiroshi
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