On the changes of the situation in Japan and the Russian-Japanese relations in 2020

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously affected the economy and public life in Japan, and has also had a negative impact on the Russian-Japanese relations. Currently, numerous mass events that were previously planned in the format of the Year of the Russian-Japanese interregional and twin-city exchanges, as well as in scientific, educational, sports and other areas, are held in a limited form, taking into account the risk of the coronavirus infection. New, primarily remote forms of mass events may become a common practice in the future, which requires in particular a review of many aspects of Russia's relations with other countries. There was a change of Prime Minister in Japan: On September 16, Abe Shinzo was replaced by Suga Yoshihide, who (although formally pursuing Abe's policy) has no personal incentives to develop relations with Russia. Probably, the first meeting between Vladimir Putin and Suga Yoshihide in 2021 will more accurately show, how serious the changes in the positions of the two sides in different areas of bilateral cooperation are.

Keywords

• japan
• east asia
• russian-japanese relations
• people’s diplomacy (peoplomacy)
• humanitarian relations
• covid-19