The government is considering inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin to Japan around May 2019 in the hope of making progress in resolving a decades-long territorial row, government sources said Friday.
Putin last visited Japan in December 2016. That trip was played up as a potential turning point in the row over the sovereignty of a chain of Russian-held, Japanese-claimed islands off Hokkaido but resulted in little tangible change.
Putin is expected to visit Japan next year in any case to take part in the Group of 20 leaders' summit. The date has not yet been announced.