Japanese prime minister says he wants to resolve territorial dispute with Russia

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TOKYO, December 24. /TASS/. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed the intention on Wednesday to work towards the solution of the territorial dispute with Russia and signing a peace treaty.

“At a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing we held a constructive dialogue on various issues,” Abe said at a news conference on the occasion of his re-election to the post of the government head. The preparation for (the Russian leader’s) visit to Japan should be currently underway, Abe said. “I intend to work further towards the settlement of the Northern Territories problem and signing of a peace treaty (with Moscow) that would respect the state interests of both countries,” he said. Japan regards as its "Northern Territories" the islands of the southern Kuril chain that belong to Russia. The four disputed islands are: Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan and the Habomai Islets.

Commenting on the situation around Ukraine, the Japanese prime minister also expressed hope for “the earliest peaceful settlement of the conflict."

During the news conference Abe also called for the strengthening of friendly relations with China and South Korea. In addition, he thanked the parliament members for the support and pledged to fulfil all the promises he has given to the electorate. Abe called for focusing on the “Abenomics” successes and said he intended to provide support to small-and medium-sized businesses, as well as to the promotion of women in society. Abenomics — the economic policies that Abe supports, include an aggressive set of monetary, fiscal, and structural reforms geared toward spurring inflation and pulling Japan out of its decades-long deflationary slump.

http://itar-tass.com/en/world/768998

[Jesus Malverde]

1. They want natural gas from Russia...nt

[bemildred]

2. Probably so, I just thought it was interesting.

What Mr. Abe is doing I mean. He is like all over the place with his policies. But I don't claim to understand Japanese politics at all.

[Jesus Malverde]

3. It is interesting, since he's bucking the U.S. to make deals with putin..nt

[Jesus Malverde]

4. I'm not sure the japanese understand them either.

Facts on the ground are an aging population bumping up against a rising China, NK testing their missles this way, SK and Japan fighting over islands, totally dependent on petroleum in dollars.

Something like 20% of the houses here are empty.

Abe was just re-elected in one of the least participated elections in history.

The aging alone makes deflation in all sectors inevitable while the social needs of the elderly take up more and more of the budget.

Aparantly government debt is much higher than in the states, the difference it's mostly held by japanese companies.

Bit of a word salad, just some observations.

[bemildred]

5. Yep, sometimes things make no sense at all, but there they are.

Like our Congress for example.

I think what is said about deflation down there is the key to Russia, he needs cheap clean reliable energy on tap. That's gas, for now anyway. That probably also relates to the desire to resolve the issues with the Kuril Islands.