Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left Sunday for a weeklong visit to major European countries and Russia to lay the groundwork for the Group of Seven summit he will host this month and to address a decades-old territorial row with Moscow.

Abe plans to confer with European leaders on how to support the world economy amid China's economic slowdown, which is expected to be on the summit agenda, government officials said. He will visit Italy, France, Belgium, Germany and Britain before traveling on to Russia.

"I hope to hold frank and candid discussions with the countries' leaders. The biggest theme is how to deal with the world economy at present," Abe told reporters at Haneda airport before his departure.