Putin and Abe's 'Good Relationship' is Key to Reaching 'Long-Term Agreements'

Russia and Japan have been locked in a dispute over an island chain, known as the Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan. The dispute which goes back to World War II has prevented both countries from signing a peace treaty.

This issue is not one that can be resolved immediately, Dr. Seijiro Takeshita, Professor of the School of Management and Information at the University of Shizuoka, noted. It "is going to take a long time, we all know that. That's one of the reasons Mr. Abe suggested that Mr. Putin see him every year in order to make slow but positive progress," the analyst said.

"The good thing is that these two gentlemen have created a pretty good relationship over the years. They know each other quite well and Mr. Putin has a [belief] that Mr. Abe will be in power for some time. That's one of the reasons why they were able to sustain this kind of a long-term relationship that [could lead] to long-term agreements," the analyst explained.

The fact that Russian and Japanese companies signed 68 agreements during Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to Japan appears to back these assertions. The deals cover such areas as nuclear energy, oil and gas exploration, logistics, investment, pharmaceuticals and agriculture.

"There is a lot of positivity on both sides" when it comes to economic cooperation between Russia and Japan, Dr. Seijiro Takeshita added.

Russia "has been suffering" from low oil prices and economic sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union, he explained. For its part, Japan is quite worried about the future ambiguity," especially following the presidential election in the US and turmoil in Europe. Improved economic relations with Russia will help Japan to a certain extent to offset this uncertainty, he added.

Dr. Seijiro Takeshita further said that energy cooperation with Russia "is good news for a lot of Japanese industries and companies." He also mentioned that it will help Tokyo to decrease its dependence on oil imported from the Middle East.

Increased economic cooperation will have a positive impact on the territorial dispute. Putin and Abe have already agreed on the idea of joint Russian-Japanese economic activities in the Kuril Islands during Thursday's talks.

"Hopefully we can keep a warm relationship on this matter to improve things while we show a very good progress on the economic side, which I think is of outmost importance," the analyst said.

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