MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The volume of trade between Russia and Japan has diminished by almost 30 percent over the past year, Russian lower house speaker Sergei Naryshkin said Wednesday.
"In the sphere of trade and economic cooperation, we are going through difficult times. Over the last year, within the first ten months of last year, the volume of trade between our countries reduced significantly, by virtually 30 percent," Naryshkin said during a meeting with Masahiko Komura, vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Komura's regular visits to Russia have contributed to establishing inter-parliamentary contacts, as well as developing cooperation in other areas between Russia and Japan, the lower house speaker added. Japanese business leaders are prepared to resume cooperation with Russia in various fields, Naryshkin stressed.
Despite deteriorated relations and the decline in trade, Russian-Japanese cooperation retains great potential, Naryshkin said. Relations between the two countries are valuable in their own right, he added, emphasizing that they should not be jeopardized by factors outside the scope of bilateral relations. He recalled the late 2015 meetings between the two countries' leaders as well as October's festival of Russian culture in Kobe.
In March 2014, Tokyo suspended talks related to easing visa requirements for Russian citizens while halting negotiations on investment, cooperation in space exploration and confidence-building agreements. In August, Japan froze the assets of 40 individuals and two Crimean companies.
