TOKYO -- At last week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Japan and Russia had been expected to announce plans for a visit by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to Japan by the end of this year. But the decision to instead postpone the visit until early next year is a fair reflection of the state of political relations between the two nations -- technically still at war -- in recent years. "Relations have remained stunted," says Joseph Ferguson, adjunct professor at the University of Washington, who argues that political relations currently lag some way behind economic ties. Ferguson, author of "Japanese-Russian Relations, 1905-2007," says the territorial dispute over ownership of the southern Kuril Islands, which are administered by Russia but also claimed by Japan, is central to understanding the current cool political climate.
Russia-Japan Relations Remain ‘Stunted’ Despite Growing Economic Ties
