Next month, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin to Japan for a much-anticipated summit. Since taking office in late 2012, Abe has expended considerable effort to improve Japan’s strained relationship with Russia. Abe and Putin have met on numerous occasions on the sidelines of international meetings at the former’s bidding. Abe even boldly traveled to Russia in February 2014 to meet Putin in Sochi for the Winter Olympic games while most of his G-7 colleagues stayed away. He returned to Sochi this past May and then, most recently, met with Putin at an Eastern Economic …read more
Source: The American Interest
