Tokyo Courts Europe Amid Tensions With Russia

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on April 30 as part of a European tour that will also take him to the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. Abe planned the visit in early February to invigorate trade and investment with these states, but that was before the Ukrainian government fell. Now the cloud overshadowing the trip is the showdown between Russia and Western powers, and both Tokyo and the Western Europeans remain relatively averse to taking on more strategic risks.