This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/06/world/asia/japan-keeps-door-to-russia-open-while-imposing-sanctions.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Japan Imposes New Sanctions on Russia but Keeps a Diplomatic Door Open | Japan Imposes New Sanctions on Russia but Keeps a Diplomatic Door Open |
| (21 days later) | |
| TOKYO — Torn between maintaining solidarity with Washington and keeping a diplomatic door open with Moscow, Japan imposed new sanctions on Russia on Tuesday but kept them more limited than those recently ordered by the United States. | |
| The new sanctions indicate that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe felt he needed to fall in line with the United States, his country’s longtime protector, analysts said, especially as he tries to fend off territorial claims by an increasingly powerful China. | The new sanctions indicate that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe felt he needed to fall in line with the United States, his country’s longtime protector, analysts said, especially as he tries to fend off territorial claims by an increasingly powerful China. |
| Still, Mr. Abe appeared to be trying to strike a delicate balance not only by limiting the sanctions, but also by indicating that he had not canceled an invitation to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to visit Japan in the fall. Mr. Abe has been pursuing warmer relations with Moscow, in part, analysts say, to ensure that Japan does not lose out on Russia’s bounty of natural gas. | Still, Mr. Abe appeared to be trying to strike a delicate balance not only by limiting the sanctions, but also by indicating that he had not canceled an invitation to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to visit Japan in the fall. Mr. Abe has been pursuing warmer relations with Moscow, in part, analysts say, to ensure that Japan does not lose out on Russia’s bounty of natural gas. |
| “Japan is sending the message that we are not enthusiastic about these sanctions,” said Yoshiki Mine, a research director at the Canon Institute for Global Studies in Tokyo and a former high-ranking Japanese diplomat. “Japan needs to show it shares the same values as the West, but it also wants to keep an opening with Russia.” | “Japan is sending the message that we are not enthusiastic about these sanctions,” said Yoshiki Mine, a research director at the Canon Institute for Global Studies in Tokyo and a former high-ranking Japanese diplomat. “Japan needs to show it shares the same values as the West, but it also wants to keep an opening with Russia.” |
| The Japanese sanctions will freeze any assets in Japan belonging to two organizations and 40 individuals connected with Russia’s involvement in Ukraine. The people named by Japan had already been targeted by the Americans and Europeans for being involved in Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula, or in what the West calls Russian-backed efforts to destabilize eastern Ukraine, according to a government spokesman. | The Japanese sanctions will freeze any assets in Japan belonging to two organizations and 40 individuals connected with Russia’s involvement in Ukraine. The people named by Japan had already been targeted by the Americans and Europeans for being involved in Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula, or in what the West calls Russian-backed efforts to destabilize eastern Ukraine, according to a government spokesman. |
| Japan will also restrict imports of products made in Crimea. | Japan will also restrict imports of products made in Crimea. |
| Analysts called the measures largely symbolic since Japan does not import much from Crimea, and it is unclear how many, if any, assets the targeted people hold in Japan. | Analysts called the measures largely symbolic since Japan does not import much from Crimea, and it is unclear how many, if any, assets the targeted people hold in Japan. |
| The latest round of American and European sanctions against Russia went much further, taking broad aim at the country’s banking, energy and military technology industries. Japan had imposed relatively mild sanctions in April that included barring some Russian officials from receiving travel visas to Japan. | The latest round of American and European sanctions against Russia went much further, taking broad aim at the country’s banking, energy and military technology industries. Japan had imposed relatively mild sanctions in April that included barring some Russian officials from receiving travel visas to Japan. |
| Mr. Mine and others said Japan’s apparent hesitation over sanctions underscored how Mr. Abe was being torn by competing geopolitical goals. | Mr. Mine and others said Japan’s apparent hesitation over sanctions underscored how Mr. Abe was being torn by competing geopolitical goals. |
| On the one hand, analysts said, Mr. Abe wants to avoid falling too far behind the United States and the European Union in punishing Moscow, especially after the downing of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner last month, which many in the West say was carried out by pro-Russia separatists. | On the one hand, analysts said, Mr. Abe wants to avoid falling too far behind the United States and the European Union in punishing Moscow, especially after the downing of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner last month, which many in the West say was carried out by pro-Russia separatists. |
| One of Mr. Abe’s signature goals has been to raise Japan’s profile in international affairs while also strengthening ties with the United States. That is the main rationale he has offered for some of his most contentious policies, in particular freeing the Japanese military from some of the pacifist constraints imposed after World War II. | One of Mr. Abe’s signature goals has been to raise Japan’s profile in international affairs while also strengthening ties with the United States. That is the main rationale he has offered for some of his most contentious policies, in particular freeing the Japanese military from some of the pacifist constraints imposed after World War II. |
| But Russia offers Mr. Abe a rare and tantalizing prospect of achieving a major diplomatic success at a time when his nationalistic tendencies have threatened to isolate him and his nation in the region. | But Russia offers Mr. Abe a rare and tantalizing prospect of achieving a major diplomatic success at a time when his nationalistic tendencies have threatened to isolate him and his nation in the region. |
| Analysts say Mr. Abe sees a chance to finally resolve one of Japan’s most stubborn diplomatic impasses, over three islands and a group of islets off its northern coast that were occupied by Soviet troops after Japan surrendered in 1945. The islands have been a sore point for almost seven decades, preventing Japan and Russia from even signing a formal peace treaty after World War II. | Analysts say Mr. Abe sees a chance to finally resolve one of Japan’s most stubborn diplomatic impasses, over three islands and a group of islets off its northern coast that were occupied by Soviet troops after Japan surrendered in 1945. The islands have been a sore point for almost seven decades, preventing Japan and Russia from even signing a formal peace treaty after World War II. |
| Both sides have new incentives now to make a deal, analysts said. Since the disaster at the Fukushima plant in 2011 forced Japan to at least temporarily end its reliance on nuclear energy, the government has been seeking new energy supplies, from sources other than the volatile Middle East. | Both sides have new incentives now to make a deal, analysts said. Since the disaster at the Fukushima plant in 2011 forced Japan to at least temporarily end its reliance on nuclear energy, the government has been seeking new energy supplies, from sources other than the volatile Middle East. |
| Mr. Putin has been looking to Asia for customers for Russia’s gas and oil, and for new sources of investment in its energy infrastructure to reduce its economic dependence on Western Europe. | Mr. Putin has been looking to Asia for customers for Russia’s gas and oil, and for new sources of investment in its energy infrastructure to reduce its economic dependence on Western Europe. |
| Both Mr. Abe and Mr. Putin have appeared to signal a greater willingness to talk about the territorial dispute than their predecessors did. Experts said there had been expectations that Mr. Abe and Mr. Putin, two leaders with impeccable conservative credentials, could finally overcome resistance to a compromise by hard-liners in both nations. | Both Mr. Abe and Mr. Putin have appeared to signal a greater willingness to talk about the territorial dispute than their predecessors did. Experts said there had been expectations that Mr. Abe and Mr. Putin, two leaders with impeccable conservative credentials, could finally overcome resistance to a compromise by hard-liners in both nations. |
| This helped lead to a noticeable thawing of long-frozen ties, with Mr. Abe meeting with Mr. Putin five times since taking office in December 2012 — most recently in February, when Mr. Abe, unlike many world leaders, attended the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. | This helped lead to a noticeable thawing of long-frozen ties, with Mr. Abe meeting with Mr. Putin five times since taking office in December 2012 — most recently in February, when Mr. Abe, unlike many world leaders, attended the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. |
| That outreach on both sides stands in stark contrast to Japan’s souring relations with neighboring South Korea and China, whose leaders have complained bitterly about what they say are Mr. Abe’s revisionist views on Japan’s bloody wartime empire-building. | That outreach on both sides stands in stark contrast to Japan’s souring relations with neighboring South Korea and China, whose leaders have complained bitterly about what they say are Mr. Abe’s revisionist views on Japan’s bloody wartime empire-building. |
| But after the conflict in Ukraine erupted, some Japanese watched anxiously as Mr. Putin signed a large contract in May to supply China with $400 billion worth of natural gas. Analysts said there were fears that Russia could retaliate against sanctions by canceling joint energy projects with Japan, like one to produce liquefied natural gas on the Russian island of Sakhalin. | But after the conflict in Ukraine erupted, some Japanese watched anxiously as Mr. Putin signed a large contract in May to supply China with $400 billion worth of natural gas. Analysts said there were fears that Russia could retaliate against sanctions by canceling joint energy projects with Japan, like one to produce liquefied natural gas on the Russian island of Sakhalin. |
| “We see China and also South Korea developing new energy cooperation with Russia,” said Nobuo Shimotomai, an expert on Russian-Japanese relations at Hosei University in Tokyo. “Japan does not want to be left behind.” | “We see China and also South Korea developing new energy cooperation with Russia,” said Nobuo Shimotomai, an expert on Russian-Japanese relations at Hosei University in Tokyo. “Japan does not want to be left behind.” |
| Russia has been trying to drive a wedge between Tokyo and Washington, analysts say. After it became clear last week that Japan was likely to impose new sanctions, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, called on Japanese leaders to show more independence from the United States, while also saying that Mr. Putin’s visit to Japan was still on as far as Russia was concerned. The dates for that visit have yet to be set. | Russia has been trying to drive a wedge between Tokyo and Washington, analysts say. After it became clear last week that Japan was likely to impose new sanctions, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, called on Japanese leaders to show more independence from the United States, while also saying that Mr. Putin’s visit to Japan was still on as far as Russia was concerned. The dates for that visit have yet to be set. |
| Russia’s Foreign Ministry also issued a statement saying that the expected Japanese move was “an unfriendly and shortsighted step” that “inevitably harms the entire range of our bilateral relations, knocking them back.” On Tuesday, Russia canceled talks between the two countries’ deputy foreign ministers. | Russia’s Foreign Ministry also issued a statement saying that the expected Japanese move was “an unfriendly and shortsighted step” that “inevitably harms the entire range of our bilateral relations, knocking them back.” On Tuesday, Russia canceled talks between the two countries’ deputy foreign ministers. |
| But in the end, analysts said, Japanese leaders decided they had no choice but to side with the United States. They also said Japan could not afford to condone a territorial grab by Russia at a time when it is locked in its own territorial dispute with China over islands under Japan’s control. | But in the end, analysts said, Japanese leaders decided they had no choice but to side with the United States. They also said Japan could not afford to condone a territorial grab by Russia at a time when it is locked in its own territorial dispute with China over islands under Japan’s control. |
| “Mr. Abe was taking an overly optimistic view of what he could accomplish with Russia,” said Mr. Mine, the former diplomat. “The Crimean crisis has forced him to take a more serious look at the geopolitical realities.” | “Mr. Abe was taking an overly optimistic view of what he could accomplish with Russia,” said Mr. Mine, the former diplomat. “The Crimean crisis has forced him to take a more serious look at the geopolitical realities.” |