Putin eyes nuclear deal with Japan

TOKYO: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wants to focus on economic ties and nuclear deal during a visit to Japan this week but a breakthrough is unlikely on a decades-old dispute over a group of islands, Japanese media reported yesterday.

A number of agreements to be signed include a deal on commercial nuclear power. The Nikkei business daily quoted Putin as saying Russia would increase its share of meeting Japan's nuclear power needs to 25 percent from 15 percent under the deal.

Russia is also seeking Japanese investment in a list of about 200 other projects, including automobile, energy, space, communications and steel manufacturing projects.