TOKYO, Jun 23 Decades of Japan-Russia Relations Temperature , dropped to zero, said Muneo Suzuki, deputy of the upper house of the Japanese parliament. He expressed his opinion on the state of Russian-Japanese relations in an interview with a RIA Novosti correspondent.
"It is easy to destroy in one day those relations of trust that were built between Japan and Russia, and which took decades to create. But this cannot be done. I am very upset and disappointed with the situation that has now developed. Now, due to the actions of the Japanese government, the temperature of relations has dropped to zero. I think this is very serious", said Muneo Suzuki.
The politician is convinced that Japan should build relations with Russia taking into account its geopolitical position. Now Tokyo is acting in line with the mainstream towards Russia adopted in the West. «For example, Japan imposed economic sanctions against Russia, imposed personal sanctions. Japan has no energy resources. In addition, Russia is a neighboring country. Japan buys 90% of its energy from the Middle East «It takes two months to ship from there. Both oil and gas are produced in Sakhalin, Russia. Oil and gas is produced in the Sakha Republic and a plant is being built in Vladivostok. Delivery to Japan will take half a day. It is necessary to use these geographical advantages and deliver in half a day, not in two months. Japan should have taken a broader view of things and promoted its position, acted wisely,» the deputy believes.Ambassador to Japan urges Tokyo to abandon unfriendly courseA politician with extensive experience, Muneo Suzuki believes that in any situation it is necessary to think about the future and build relations based on the future, and fears that without this, irreparable damage may be done to relations between the two countries. there are wars that would not end. I think that in the near future there will be a settlement. In relations with Russia, everything will depend on how Japan behaves. If Japan continues to take various sanctions further, then relations will become irreversible, «said Suzuki's fears. Muneo Suzuki is a politician with vast experience: this year marks 40 years since he became a Member of Parliament. He now represents the Nippon Ishin (Japan Renewal Party) in the upper house of parliament. He is well known in Japanese politics for his interest in signing a peace treaty and developing bilateral relations with Russia. Suzuki often advised former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, under whom bilateral contacts developed very intensively.A Japanese politician called Tokyo's actions against Moscow illogical. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. Soon after the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, Western countries began to impose sanctions against the Russian Federation, in particular , on Russian energy carriers. The sixth package provides for the gradual introduction of an embargo on oil imports from the Russian Federation. The ban will affect only deliveries by sea, and oil coming through the Druzhba pipeline is not subject to restrictions. In the future, Europe does not exclude the introduction of the seventh package, which may include an embargo on Russian gas supplies. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the policy of containing and weakening Russia is a long-term strategy of the West, and sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the entire global economy. Kishida announced a change in policy towards Russia because of Ukraine