TOKYO -- Japan and Russia aim to further mutual military exchange with a visit by the Kremlin's top uniformed officer in mid-December, with defense officials to discuss increasing joint activities that were put on hold after Moscow seized Ukraine's Crimea.
Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia's armed forces, will likely meet with officials including Japanese counterpart Katsutoshi Kawano, chief of the Joint Staff of Japan's Self-Defense Forces. A previous planned visit by Gerasimov in 2014 was called off owing to the Crimea annexation that year. Russia's commander-in-chief of land forces, Oleg Salyukov, is also set to visit Japan at the end of next month.
