PRESS: Official sees share of Russian energy tripling in Japan

MOSCOW, Apr 18 (PRIME) -- Muneo Suzuki, head of the New Party Daichi, called by Japanese media an unofficial advisor to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on relations with Moscow, expects the Russian energy market share to triple, Suzuki told Izvestiya daily in an interview published on Tuesday.

“Now the combined share of Russian energy in the Japanese energy balance stands at slightly below 10%. I expect it to rise gradually and reach 20–30%. Economic exchanges will also increase correspondingly,” he said.

Abe is to visit Russia on April 27–28, and Suzuki said the countries are coordinating a list of joint economic projects on the four disputed southern Kuril islands.

“I think that during this visit the leaders’ agreement on how joint economic activities should be carried out will be confirmed and formalized somehow,” he said.

Abe and President Vladimir Putin will also discuss visa-free travel of Japanese people who want to visit graves of their ancestors on the Kuril Islands, he said.

“I also think they will discuss implementation of eight spheres of cooperation proposed by the Japanese party during a meeting in Sochi on May 6 last year. Among international issues, the leaders are likely to discuss Syria and North Korea,” he said.

Abe is very interested in improving relations between Moscow and Washington, he said.

“Of all leaders, Abe has met the most with Putin, and his relations with the Russian leader are remarkable by their level of trust. I am sure that development of personal relations and the factor of personal trust of the two leaders to each other will transform into successful development of relations between the two countries,” he said.

End