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Russia-Japan dispute over Kuril Islands

Vladimir Putin expected to visit Japan on December 15 — ambassador

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MOSCOW, October 11. /TASS/. Japan’s authorities expect Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit the country before the end of the year, the date of December 15 has been under consideration, the Japanese Ambassador to Russia Toyohisa Kozuki said at a meeting with the head of Russia’s Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Committee for International Affairs Konstantin Kosachyov.

"Vladimir Putin’s visit to Japan is the most important event this year," the ambassador said.

Kostantin Kosachyov, in turn, noted that during Vladimir Putin’s visit many representatives of various industries from the two countries would hold meetings. He also said that this week the Russian and Japanese First Deputy Foreign Ministries were expected to discuss the upcoming visit.

According to the Russian senator, bilateral relations between Russia and Japan have been developing successfully, despite some problems a positive trend has been observed, and much of the credit goes to the leaders of the two countries.

On September 2, the Russian president and the Japanese prime minister held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian Pacific city of Vladivostok. After the meeting, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that Putin’s visit to Japan would take place on December 15 in Abe’s hometown of Nagato in the Yamaguchi Prefecture. Shinzo Abe also said that he expected to have another meeting with the Russian leader in November, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru.

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