Latest news with #JapanRussiaRelations
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
After Trump, Shinzo Abe's Widow Meets Putin
Russian leader Vladimir Putin hosted the widow of assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, the Kremlin said, five months after then US president-elect Donald Trump welcomed her at Mar-a-Lago. Akie Abe was not in Russia in an official capacity, and Tokyo -- whose relations with Moscow are frosty -- said Friday it had not communicated with the 62-year-old about the visit, AFP said. Putin said it had been Shinzo Abe's "dream" to conclude "a peace treaty between our nations", according to a Kremlin statement in English published on Thursday. "The current situation differs; we will not address that aspect today," Putin said, offering Abe flowers and reportedly his presidential limousine to go to a ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre. While Putin made a trip to Shinzo Abe's little-visited home prefecture Yamaguchi in 2016, Japan-Russia relations -- while never warm -- have deteriorated sharply since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Akie Abe, who also met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September, said her late husband had met Putin no fewer than 27 times. "I might add that even after the onset of the challenging situation concerning Ukraine, my husband hoped to meet with you. Regrettably, circumstances prevented further meetings: his life was cut short," the Kremlin quoted Abe as saying. Born to a wealthy Japanese family, she married Shinzo Abe in 1987 and rose to prominence during his terms as prime minister from 2006-7 and 2012-20. As Japan's longest-serving premier, Abe became one of the country's most recognizable political figures, known for cultivating international alliances and his "Abenomics" economic strategy. He was shot and killed while speaking at a political campaign rally on July 8, 2022. Shinzo Abe was also close to Trump during the US president's first term, gifting him a gold-colored golf club that the American admitted in 2023 to temporarily misplacing.
NHK
3 days ago
- General
- NHK
Putin meets widow of former Japanese Prime Minister Abe in Moscow
Russian President Vladimir Putin has met Abe Akie, the widow of the late Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in Moscow. The meeting took place at the Kremlin on Thursday. It is not clear what brought Abe to the capital to meet the Russian leader. Abe touched on Putin's visit in 2016 to Yamaguchi Prefecture in western Japan for summit talks with her husband. The prefecture was the former prime minister's home constituency. She described Russia as a "very important neighbour for Japan," and said she would be happy if cultural exchanges between the two countries could develop. Putin said Russia remembers the late prime minister's contribution to the development of Russian-Japanese cooperation. He said Abe's dream was concluding a peace treaty between the two nations, and noted that the Japanese leader "pursued it earnestly." Putin added, "We made significant progress together on this path." After the meeting, Putin provided his private vehicle, the Aurus Senat limousine, to take Abe to the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Abe met then US President-elect Donald Trump in the United States last December, shortly before he took office. She later gave a speech and said she would like to serve as a bridge with other countries.
