http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=12269060Japanese minister in favour of strategic relations with Russia
18.01.2008, 11.58
TOKYO, January 18 (Itar-Tass) - Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura described Russia on Friday as an “important neighbouring nation” and went on record for “strategic partnership” with it. At the same time, addressing the lower house of the Japanese parliament, he came out for more resultative negotiations with Moscow on the South Kurils issue.
“We shall conduct negotiations with Russia, our important neighbour, in accordance with our ardent desire to achieve progress in the settlement of the northern territories problem. At the same time, we shall exert efforts to develop our relations with it in a vast number of areas, eager to build up strategic partnership by promoting cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Far East and East Siberia,” the minister stated.
It was noted in Tokyo that the minister had disclosed his country’s readiness to shape its relations with Russia within the framework of Japan’ s Asian diplomacy, which the current cabinet regards as a most important direction of its foreign policy. He was referring not only to Japan’s readiness to cooperate on security problems, but also on problems of ecology, development of new contacts in trade, investments and technology.
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda went on record earlier on Friday for the elevation of his country’s relations with Russia to “a higher rung”. He expressed this view in his program speech, delivered on the first day of the parliament’s session.
“In order to bring up the relations with Russia to a new level, we shall conduct more active negotiations with it on the territorial issue and, at the same time, develop our relations in many areas,” he stated.
This is the first time that the current Japanese premier has used the term “high level of relations” in his statements on Russia. Contacts between the two countries have been rapidly developing of late, primarily in trade and investments. The 2007 Russo-Japanese trade turnover may reach 18-20 billion U.S. dollars, experts believe. The investments of Japanese corporations in Russia are growing notably, primarily in the automobile-building industry.
