Japan-Russia Relations
Japan-Russia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
January 14, 2019
On January 14, Mr. Taro Kono, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held his eighth Japan-Russia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with Mr. Lavrov, Sergey Viktorovich, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. (The meeting and working lunch：approximately four hours). This was the first round of negotiations regarding the issue of a peace treaty following the outcomes of the summit meetings held in Singapore and Buenos Aires.
Spending a long time on the discussion of a peace treaty issue, the two foreign ministers undertook preparations for a visit to Russia by Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
1. Issue of concluding a peace treaty
- After the discussion both countries` positions, the ministers took an earnest discussion. Although this has been a difficult issue remained unresolved for many years, they discussed seriously under the two leaders’ determination to put an end to this issue by their own hands.
- The two foreign ministers shared the view that they will have Mr. Mori, Senior Deputy Minister, and Mr. Morgulov, Deputy Minister hold frequent deliberations and that they will confirm the progress of negotiations at each juncture as the persons responsible for the negotiations. The two foreign ministers agreed to hold a meeting between Mr. Mori and Mr. Morgulov on January 15 and to hold next Foreign Ministers` meeting if both foreign ministers will attend the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in February.
- During the negotiation, Japanese side clearly conveyed its position, including the territorial issue. The Russian side also concretely indicated its view. The ministers had an earnest and frank discussion.
2. Political dialogue
- The two ministers agreed to hold the Japan-Russia Summit Meeting in the afternoon of January 22 on the occasion of Prime Minister Abe`s visit to Russia
3. Japan-Russia economic relationship
- The two foreign ministers confirmed that cooperations in the field of the economy is steadily progressing including “the Eight-point Cooperation Plan”, following the exchanges at the Meeting of the Japan-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Issues held in December last year, which Minister Kono chaired. They also discussed policies for further expanding trade and investment.
4. International situations
- The two foreign ministers held a discussion on cooperation in the international arena, and shared the view that they will continue to communicate closely.