Prime Minister Shinzo Abe voiced confidence about resolving Japan's territorial dispute with Russia after talks Friday with President Vladimir Putin — but Tokyo may have few cards left to play as it seeks to win concessions from Moscow.
Japan has pinned its hopes primarily on boosting economic cooperation, which it believes will have spillover effects on the territorial row. Russia seized three islands and a group of islets off Hokkaido at the end of World War II and Tokyo and Moscow have yet sign a postwar peace treaty.
Tokyo's confidence in its economic leverage has been strengthened by the sluggishness of the Russian economy, which has been hit by falling oil prices, the depreciation of the ruble and high inflation.