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Former Japanese Prime Minister (PM) Yoshiro Mori. Photo/REUTERS
TOKYO – Former Japanese Prime Minister (PM) Yoshiro Mori said it was “almost unthinkable” that Russia would lose the Ukraine conflict. He questioned the US-led push to support Kiev, which Tokyo has joined.
“Is it okay to put so much effort into Ukraine?” the former prime minister asked, as quoted by Japanese media.
“It is almost unthinkable that Russia will lose,” he said at the Japan-India Association meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday (25/1/2023).
The 85-year-old politician explained he doesn’t understand why Tokyo would be willing to spoil its relationship with Moscow after “we’ve come this far”.
Also read: Zelensky Appears to Give a Speech on Russian Television, Citizens are in Uproar
Russia and Japan have an unresolved territorial dispute and are technically still at war with each other.
Mori served as Japan’s head of government for more than a year between 2000 and 2001, with his tenure mired by hostile media coverage of his misdeeds.
After stepping down, he was appointed to lead the organizing body for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Despite criticism at home, Mori cultivated good relations with the Russian government, thanks in part to family ties.
Also read: Zelensky Appears to Give a Speech on Russian Television, Citizens are in Uproar
