Nikkei Asian Review:
TOKYO — Japan and Russia intend to have their top foreign affairs and defense officials meet this year, part of Tokyo’s effort to build bilateral ties as it works to settle a long-standing territorial dispute.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to affirm plans for the “two plus two” talks, likely to be held in the fall, when they meet Saturday in Moscow. North Korea will be high on the ministers’ agenda, as it was during the last round in March 2017, when the two sides agreed to cooperate on dealing with Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.
Abe and Putin will likely also agree to have the top uniform officers of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the Ground SDF visit Moscow, following a trip to Japan last year by Russian military chief Valery Gerasimov, to foster mutual trust.
