Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling bloc came out victorious in his country's latest elections to the upper house of parliament. This win will give him a chance to test his economic revival programme, known as “abeconomics,” and to advance the dialogue begun with Russian authorities in April this year on the entire gamut of Japanese-Russian relations.

       Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling bloc came out victorious in his country's latest elections to the upper house of parliament. This win will give him a chance to test his economic revival programme, known as “abeconomics,” and to advance the dialogue begun with Russian authorities in April this year on the entire gamut of Japanese-Russian relations.

       Abe's recent visit to Moscow and the nature of his conversations with President Vladimir Putin could make a reset in Russian-Japanese relations possible, relaunching the negotiations on key issues, such as the conclusion of a peace treaty, the development of cooperation in trade and the resolution of a long-standing territorial dispute. The painful controversy over the Kuril Islands has badly damaged relations between the two countries over the post-WWII decades. The main objective for both sides should now be establishing a strategic partnership. But no peace treaty has yet been signed, and this holds back bilateral trade. In particular, the lack of such an accord impedes Japanese companies' involvement in developing Siberia and the Russian Far East, a prospect from which both Russia and Japan stand to benefit. If further conditioned on the resolution of the territorial dispute, Russian-Japanese relations will remain in a deadlock. Good news is that the two incumbent presidents have now agreed to try to reach a peace deal. This is bound to trigger more debates over the disputed territories, a matter of national prestige for both states. To Japan, regaining the four southern Kuril Islands, which it sees as its own, is a matter of honour, while Russia believes it would lose face by yielding these territories which it gained during WWII. All the more so since there has been no precedent of a territory conquered in warfare then being restituted.

       Finding a compromise is the only possible solution. At his meeting with Abe, Putin described it as ''hikiwake' -- a judo term meaning a draw. This seems to be the right approach. Indeed, a compromise would soften the issue and both the elites and the public would no longer see it as something sacral, crucial to maintaining national pride.

       The issue needs to be addressed pragmatically to be resolved. A compromise is possible, and one with clear-cut boundaries, which both sides could find suitable. It could, for instance, consist in returning to the 1956 Declaration, signed with the Soviet leader of the time, Nikita Khrushchev. In line with this declaration, two of the four disputed islands were supposed to be returned to Japan; a peace treaty planned to be signed in its wake was expected to annul Japan's claims to the remaining islands, Kunashir and Iturup. The way those talks were going and the declaration that came out of them gave a lot of food for optimism, but, pressured by the United States, Japan eventually refused to accept the terms. And Russian diplomats repeatedly argued that bilateral commerce and economic cooperation should not be linked to a peace treaty or lack thereof.

       In addition, by giving concrete substance to their bilateral relations, the sides could alleviate the territorial controversy overtime. There have been many different proposals to this effect. One was put forward by President Boris Yeltsin at his historic no-necktie meeting with Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. It suggested developing the economy of the disputed territories through joint effort, creating a free-trade zone there, as well as an open-access territory where Japanese nationals could come to visit the graves of their relatives. And there are other realistic options on the table, too.

       The new parliamentary election win of the ruling bloc, incorporating the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito, could give more confidence to Abe as its helmsman. The next three years are unlikely to bring him another election jitter. In a situation where the ruling bloc enjoys a majority in both the upper and the lower parliamentary chambers and an Abe-led Cabinet is in place, legislative initiatives could be made with greater confidence, without fearing an opposition veto on every motion put forward by the lower house. This strengthens Japan's negotiating position, and Russian diplomats will also benefit from collaborating with a stable partner.

       Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.