Bilateral relationship between Russia and Japan

On the map, Russia is Japan's closest neighbor, but politically the two nations could not be further apart. Belonging to rival blocs during the Cold War, Japan and Russia have continued to drift apart in terms of mutual understanding and neighborly relations, a situation that has hardly improved since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Both nations have a number of unresolved issues, foremost among them the diplomatic standoff over ownership of the island territories, which continues to prevent Tokyo and Moscow from signing a peace treaty to formally end hostilities in which the last shots were fired over 75 years ago. Although Japan did not join other nations in imposing sanctions on Russia for its occupation of the contested (Ukrainian) territory of Crimea, economic relations between the neighbors are far from robust.

More recently, with both countries struggling to halt the spread of the Corona virus within their territories, the pandemic has seriously undermined the chances of a political understanding: no direct talks have taken place in nearly two years.

Ambassador Galuzin plans to focus on these contentious issues. He will explain Russia's positions, including its participation in solving urgent international problems such as COVID-19 - and discuss the prospects for friendlier ties between the two neighboring countries.

How to attend:
Please register at front@fccj.or.jp with your name, the name of your media outlet, and FCCJ membership number. Due to space restrictions attendance will be limited to 20 people. Doors open 30 minutes before the event. Please sign in, giving your name and contact details at the reception, and have your temperature taken before proceeding.

How to watch online: https://www.youtube.com/c/FCCJchannel/live
Livestreaming of the press events will be available and video of this event will be uploaded to our FCCJ YouTube channel.

How to ask questions: https://forms.gle/u1pYrqrWo3fFywhg6     
Members watching the event online can submit questions for the speakers in advance using this submission form.

TV crew: Please make a reservation at front@fccj.or.jp. Doors open for TV crews only at 45 minutes before the event. There will be five positions available for livestreaming.

Professional Activities Committee