The Japanese government has been engaged in a delicate balancing act when it comes to Russia. Even as the crisis in East-West relations has intensified since 2014, Japan has strengthened political and economic ties with its northern neighbor.
It has justified this policy as essential in order to secure a breakthrough in Japan's long-standing territorial dispute over the Russian-held islands off Hokkaido. However, as geopolitical tensions reach Cold War levels, Japan is under increasing pressure to fall in line with its Western partners.
Among Group of Seven members, Japan has been an outlier on Russia for several years. The first indication of this was in February 2014, when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, an event boycotted by major Western leaders.