Ex-Japan PM Abe's widow Akie meets Putin, welcomed with large bouquet

Akie Abe, widow of the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (Mainichi)

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Akie Abe, widow of the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, his presidential office said, with a photo showing him welcoming her with a large bouquet of flowers.

Putin, who held in-person talks 27 times with Shinzo Abe during his tenure as prime minister until 2020, was quoted by the office as saying, "We remember his contribution to the development of Russian-Japanese cooperation."

"I know his dream -- and he pursued it earnestly -- was concluding a peace treaty between our nations. We made significant progress together on this path. The current situation differs; we will not address that aspect today," Putin added.

Akie Abe told Putin, "I am not a politician and do not wish to address political matters. I will only say that Russia is a very important neighbor for Japan...even during this difficult period," according to the office.

On Friday, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the government had not had any communication with Akie Abe regarding her meeting with Putin.

"I am not in a position to comment," the top government spokesman said at a regular press conference in Tokyo.

A longstanding territorial dispute between Japan and Russia has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty. Shinzo Abe attempted to resolve the issue through dialogue with Putin but failed to regain Russian-held, Japanese-claimed islands off Hokkaido.

Bilateral negotiations have also been suspended since Tokyo imposed punitive sanctions on Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022, with Moscow banning the entry of many Japanese politicians and business leaders.