Japan Woos Russia With Deeper Economic Ties In Face Of Rising China

 Japan is hoping the lure of deeper economic ties with Russia will strengthen strategic relations in the face of a rising China, but skeptics question whether the approach will generate a breakthrough in a decades-old territorial dispute.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a business conference in Vladivostok to discuss, among other things, closer economic cooperation in such areas as energy and technology.