TOKYO, December 19. /TASS/. Japan seeks to cooperate with Russia in 2018 based on its eight-point plan proposed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in May 2016. However, before his visit to Russia in spring 2018, Tokyo intends to flesh out its cooperation plan in new areas such as the digital economy and productivity of Russian enterprises, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko said in an interview with TASS.

"Before Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Russia in May, we would like to flesh out our eight-point cooperation plan. Among other things, we are looking into specifying Japanese-Russian cooperation in such new areas as the digital economy and boosting labor productivity. We also want to create a chain of favorable circumstances between Japan and Russia that would contribute to the development of the Far East," the minister added.

Seko said he hopes that in 2018, two years following the eight-point plan’s introduction, new detailed results would emerge. "2018 will mark the third year after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the eight-point cooperation plan to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and I believe this is an important year when we will get specific results," he said.

The eight-point plan proposed by Japanese Prime Minister Abe in May 2016 has served as groundwork for building up economic cooperation between Russia and Japan over the past few years. The document includes strengthening ties between both countries in the fields of energy, small and medium business, the Far East’s industrialization, and widening the export base. It includes a proposal to strengthen cooperation in advanced technologies, including nuclear energy, as well as in the field of humanitarian exchanges.