Japan’s PM not planning to postpone visit to Russia

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe does not plan to postpone his visit to Russia due on September 10 due to the powerful earthquake in Japan’s northern Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Thursday.

"No changes to the schedule are planned," he said.

Abe is supposed to take part in the Eastern Economic Forum due to be held in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok on September 11-13. According to Russian president’s aide Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with the Japanese prime minister in Vladivostok on September 10.

Meanwhile, governor of Hokkaido Prefecture, Harumi Takahashi, has cancelled her visit to Russia’s Sakhalin scheduled for September 6-8, Kyodo said.

A strong magnitude 6.7 earthquake rocked southwest of Hokkaido Island in the small hours on Thursday. The epicenter was located in Iburi subprefecture at a depth of 37 kilometers. According to latest reports, two people died and more than 100 were hurt. Tens are missing.

The earth tremors caused serious damage to buildings, large-scale landslides in mountainous areas and problems in railway and air traffic. The region’s main airport, New Chitose Airport, has been closed, all flights have been canceled.