If recent statements by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Vladimir Putin are any indication, Japan and Russia may be moving closer to resolving a seven-decade-old row over four disputed islands.
During his two spells as prime minister dating back to 2006, Abe has held 14 meetings with the Russian president to press his case for a resolution and make progress toward signing a peace treaty to balance chilly ties with China. To sweeten the deal, Japan is offering economic aid to Russia, which is struggling to climb out of a recession.
We must resolve this during our own generation ... we should proceed with negotiations with a sense of responsibility, on the basis of a strong determination to resolve this in our own times
In a Bloomberg interview in September, Putin said that resolving the conflict over the islands occupied by the Soviet Union in the final days of the second world war should be part of setting the stage for the long-term development of relations with Japan. “We’re not talking about some exchange or some sale,” Putin said. “We are talking about finding a solution where neither of the parties would feel defeated or a loser.”
The two leaders are set to meet again at an international summit in Peru next month, and the Russian president is scheduled to visit Abe’s home prefecture of Yamaguchi in December. Some kind of deal in the next few months may provide Abe with political capital to call a general election early next year.
Here are some potential outcomes: