TOKYO, August 17. /TASS/. Japan needs to maintain energy cooperation with Russia and strive to sustain relations with the country to the greatest extent possible under current circumstances, Japan’s political analyst and author of several books on Russia who serves as a senior research fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, one of Japan’s leading think tanks, Taisuke Abiru said in an interview with the Kyodo news agency.

He made the comment in connection with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent trip to Iturup Island in the southern part of the Kuril Islands.

"Japan announced in May that it would allocate $14.6 mln under NATO’s PURL support program for Ukraine to purchase US-made weapons and equipment for subsequent transfer to Kiev. Tokyo also, for the first time, deployed Japan Self-Defense Forces officers to the NATO structure providing assistance to Ukraine," he said.

"Russia is deeply dissatisfied with the strengthening of Japan’s ties with NATO and Ukraine, and is signaling that it may respond to Tokyo’s continued sanctions. It seems to me that the Russian President’s visit to Iturup Island was linked, among other things, to the fact that Moscow currently sees no prospects for developing bilateral relations against the backdrop of Japanese sanctions," the expert added.

"At the same time, Russia has no intention of immediately cutting off economic and cultural exchanges with Japan. Given the uncertainty in the Middle East, Japan needs to maintain energy ties with Russia. At this stage, the only option is to maintain relations with Moscow to the extent possible, while closely monitoring Russian-American relations and the situation in Ukraine," he noted.

On August 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time visited the Kuril Island of Iturup. In response, Tokyo lodged a strong protest with the Russian side, emphasizing that all the "northern territories" as Tokyo designates the southern part of the Kuril Islands, including Iturup, constitute inherent Japanese territory from both historical and legal standpoints.