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PM Abe Touches on Japan's Top Foreign Policy Priorities During Whirlwind US Trip

© REUTERS / Carlos BarriaJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers remarks on North Korea accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida U.S., February 11, 2017
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers remarks on North Korea accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida U.S., February 11, 2017 - Sputnik International
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The Japanese Prime Minister has returned from an extremely brief trip to the US to discuss key issues with US President Trump, during which he stressed that the world's biggest international issues can't be solved without US and Russian involvement.

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the United States for two days last week, holding official talks with US President Donald Trump to discuss global affairs. They addressed US-Japanese economic ties and possibility of Trump visiting Japan at some point this year.

The Russian online newspaper Vzglyad specifically drew attention to the fact that Abe was traveling to the US between February 10 and February 11 and that this was his second visit in less than three months.

Importantly, the Japanese Prime Minister made several statements concerning Russia during his latest visit to the US, Vzglyad recalled.

First and foremost, Abe said that a range of international issues cannot be settled unless Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump communicate directly.

"President Putin is a person who keeps his promises. Problems, namely in Ukraine, Syria and Iran, cannot be resolved unless there is direct communication between President Putin and President Trump. I stressed that constructive participation in international issues is important," Abe told the broadcaster NHK after his talks with Trump.

He also said that he had secured the understanding of the US President of the importance of maintaining a dialogue with Russia when solving the territorial dispute between Moscow and Tokyo over the Kuril Islands.

"One cannot but draw parallels between Abe's ever-increasing drive related to his steps with respect both to the new US Administration and Russia," the Vzglyad said adding that "the reasons are quite obvious and lie on the surface."

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On the one hand, Japan has to grapple with the current military and political tensions in the region, especially due to China's and North Korea's adverse attitude to Tokyo, while on the other – Trump's protectionist intentions may add to "a number of extremely serious systemic problems" of the Japanese economy, according to the Vzglyad.

Also, the newspaper said, the Japanese elites know full well that the limited sovereignty of Tokyo, which remains under the protectorate of the United States, raises more questions about the future of Japan.

"In this vein, the Japanese government should try to resolve a number of important and extremely difficult tasks related to their country's foreign policy within the shortest period of time," the Vzglyad pointed out.

First and foremost, the newspaper said, Tokyo must strengthen its sovereignty by reducing its dependence on Washington and save the Japanese economy, which should not be destroyed for the sake of the US economic prosperity.

"Tokyo should also do its best to maintain friendly relations both with the United States and Russia due to the growing political and military confrontation in the region which in turn should prompt Japan to ensure national security and defense capability," the Vzglyad said.

And last but not least should become Tokyo's efforts to save face, both in the international arena and in Japanese society, something that may prove a tricky task given Prime Minister Abe's mega active steps related to the United States, the newspaper concluded.

Meanwhile, Gevorg Mirzayan, Associate Professor of Finance University with the Government of the Russian Federation, told Sputnik that "Japan seems to have taken the right position because its Prime Minister was one of the first world leaders to decide to join and benefit from the process [of global transformation under Trump] rather than oppose it."

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Mirzayan quoted the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun as saying that "Abe had two options" and that "he could either distance himself from Trump or to get closer to the American President."

"The Prime Minister has taken on the latter option, in a bid to promote Japanese interests until the new US Administration  determines its policy towards third countries, especially Russia and China," the newspaper said.

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