Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to visit the United States in March and the European members of the Group of Seven countries during Golden Week to reaffirm cooperation ahead of the G-7 summit Japan will host in May.
Aside from holding talks with the leaders of the G-7 countries, Abe is mulling an unofficial visit to Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin before hosting the May 26-27 summit in Mie Prefecture, government sources said Tuesday.
The G-7 summit will bring together the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. Russia was part of the Group of Eight framework, but its membership was suspended following Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014.