Japan needs to be a ‘friendly neighbor’ — Nelson Wong

Japan has protested Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the disputed Kuril Islands, which Tokyo claims as its ‘Northern Territories.’Nelson Wong, vice chairman of the Shanghai Center for RIMPAC and International Studies and a Valdai Club expert, argues that Japan is overreacting. He discusses the post-World War II agreements governing the islands, Moscow and Tokyo’s failed attempts to reach a settlement, Japan’s alliance with the United States and Tokyo’s accelerating military buildup.