The New York Times via The International Herald Tribune, January 11
KHABAROVSK, Russia The Russian Army general gamely tried on a samurai helmet, the gift of a Japanese general who visited here recently. Then the Japanese general donned a Russian fur hat and watched Russian tanks grind across the snow-covered taiga.
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Naval and coast guard visits have become annual affairs. Bilateral trade was up 50 percent through September. Japan has become the largest foreign investor in the oil and gas projects of Sakhalin, the largest foreign investment in Russia today. Toyota, Japan's largest corporation, has announced plans to build an auto plant in Russia.
After decades of hot and cold war, Russia and Japan are coming together in the face of a rising China.
(Complete Article)