Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for the first time during the June Group of 20 summit in Mexico. When Noda proposed holding substantive talks over the Northern Territories dispute on the basis of bilateral accords and documents as well as of the principle of law and justice, Putin reportedly replied that in principle he was prepared to discuss the issue.
An episode of confusion on the part a Russian translator was disclosed when Noda said in a joking manner that he will present an Akita ken (meaning Akita dog in Japanese) from Akita ken (meaning Akita Prefecture in Japanese) to the dog-loving Russian president. Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba presented a 3-month-old Akita puppy to the Russian Presidential Executive Office upon arriving in Moscow in late July to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited Kunashiri Island, one of the four Northern Territories islands, for the second time shortly after the first Noda-Putting meeting took place without major hitches. Medvedev's first visit to the island took place while he was serving as Russia's president. If his latest visit was made in coordination with Putin, it must be said that it is an extremely crafty and tough diplomatic strategy toward Japan.