Contents tagged with Japan

  • Russian MFA: Deployment of missile systems to Kuril Islands was to strengthen national security

    The deployment of Bal and Bastion missiles to the Kuril Islands was carried out under the framework of scheduled work for national security, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said.

    “With regard to the placing of missile systems on the Southern Kurils: the Russian Federation is carrying out scheduled activities in the framework of defense construction. The goal is the consistent strengthening of national security,” she answered, in response to a question about …

  • Japanese Foreign Minister: Japan will take measures if Russia deploys missile systems to Kuril Islands

    Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida stated that Tokyo will take measures if Russia deploys Bal and Bastion missile systems to the Kuril Islands, TV Dozhd reported, referencing the Japanese NHK public broadcasting company.

    On Tuesday, Russia announced that the coastal missile systems will be deployed to the Iturup and Kunashir Islands, part of the contested Kuril Islands north of Japan and south of Russia’s Sakhalin Island.

    Bastion coastal missile systems are equipped with the Oniks …

  • The State Bank of Japan tightens sanctions against Russia

    The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has limited the financing of Russian companies and financial institutions, Nikkei reports.

    JBIC took this recent step as a show of agreement with the USA and the European Union, which has imposed relatively more severe constraints against Russia. The state bank will stop financing projects that European or American companies have pulled out of. The Japanese lender will also check to see that no private-sector peers will fund a potential …

  • Peskov: Russia is quietly conducting negotiations with Japan on Kuril Islands

    Russia and Japan are conducting consultations on the issue of the Kuril Islands and they are carrying them out thoroughly and quietly. Acording to Russian Interfax news agency, this was stated by the the Press Secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov.

    “As far as the issue of the islands is concerned, we are conducting consultations. They are complex, they do not tolerate extra noise, they don’t tolerate any information injections. This is a very meticulous process which needs a lot of …

  • Japan denies that they proposed allowing Russia to manage the Kuril Islands

    The Japanese Foreign Ministry denied information that Tokyo intended to propose that Moscow and Tokyo manage the four Islands of Kuril Ridge together. "We deny the report of the newspaper Nikkei that Japan and Russia are discussing the joint management of the northern territories,” stated the representative of Japanese Foreign Minister Yasuhisa Kawamura, Reuters reported on Monday, October 17th.

    "A fundamental position of Japan is that Japan will sign a peace agreement with Russia on the issue …

  • Japan does not recognize results of Russian elections in Crimea

    Japan does not recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in March 2014, and, therefore, the legitimacy and results of the "elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation," which were held in the Crimea on September 18, 2016, according to a statement by the Japanese Embassy in Ukraine.

    The Embassy also stressed that Japan “supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and does not recognize the attempts to change the status quo by force.”

    On …

  • Japan scrambles fighters to escort Russian military aircraft near its borders

    As reported by Interfax, referring to the self-defense headquarters of Japan, two Russian Tu-142 long-range anti-submarine aircraft were flying over the Sea of Japan from south to north along the coast of the Honshu and Hokkaido islands. Afterwards, they allegedly turned around and followed a similar route back. Japan did not register any airspace violations.

    In June, it was reported in Tokyo that Japanese fighter jets took off to intercept two Il-38 anti-submarine warfare aircraft from the …

  • Japan intercepts Russian planes near its borders

    Japanese military jest were scrambled to intercept two Russian Navy anti-submarine IL-38 planes off the Japanese Pacific coast. The incident was reported by the Command of the Self-Defense Force of Japan.

    The Russian planes approached the Japanese coast from the direction of Sakhalin Island, flew over the southern coast of the Kuril islands, then they made a detour to the east of the Japanese island of Honshu and followed the same route back. The incident took place on June 27.

    The Ilyushin …

  • Shinzo Abe to meet with Vladimir Putin in Sochi

    Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Russia next week to meet with Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Radio Svoboda reported.

    According to the Kremlin, Abe will arrive on May 6th and will discuss economic cooperation with Putin. The two leaders are also expected to discuss international issues.

    The Japanese and Russian Foreign Ministers held talks two weeks ago.

    The meeting between Abe and Putin is viewed as a step towards improving bilateral relations between Russia and Japan, which have …

  • Japan promises Ukraine $1.85 billion if Kiev successfully implements reforms

    The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe, said during a joint press statement with the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, that Japan promises to provide support to Ukraine in the amount of $1.85 billion if Kiev shows pregress in implementing reforms, Ukrainian News reported.

    “For our part, I have the following intention: We will keep our promises on provision of financial support to Ukraine in the amount of $1.85 billion for the implementation of reforms. The Prime Minister added that they …