Russian President Vladimir Putin anticipated storming into Ukraine and taking the country in a matter of weeks, with the West not even having a chance to respond, but this did not happen.

In February 2024, Japan and Ukraine negotiated a bilateral tax treaty that prevents double taxation of companies and individuals, removing a barrier for Japanese investors to pour money into Ukraine during the conflict.

In June 2024, Putin claimed that current conditions between Russia and Japan are not conducive to peace treaty negotiations, and blamed Japan for the breakdown, stating 'Everything that has been done has been done by Japan,' while seemingly ignoring that Japan's decisions are informed by his actions and the invasion of Ukraine.

In the wake of World War II, the Soviet Union seized the Northern Territories (called Kurils by Russia), which are located 810 miles northeast of Hokkaido, Japan. This territorial dispute remains unresolved—Reuters notes that World War II hostilities between Japan and Russia have technically not ended due to differing stances on these islands.

Hundreds of billions of dollars in military aid have been sent to Ukraine by Western nations, with commitments being made for many billions more.

The increasing modernization and economic growth of China since 2000 is causing Japan to believe it is slowly losing its position as one of the chief powerbrokers in the Indo-Pacific as China's influence grows.

Japan's cabinet approved the country's largest-ever defense package, with the country investing $55.9 billion into its military in 2024, increasing annually to reach a peak of $62.5 billion in 2027.

Fumio Kishida was the president of the G7 in 2023 and used that position to ensure that global attention remained focused on Russia's actions in Ukraine, according to CSIS.

Kishida's invitation of Zelensky to meet Asian nation representatives represented a blow to Putin, as Putin saw his rival (Ukraine) engaging in diplomatic conversations with countries he would like to curry favor with.

Japan was one of the first countries to coordinate with the U.S. and other G7 members to implement punitive sanctions against Russia following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, including asset freezes, restrictions on SWIFT payment access, and restrictions on import and export of controlled items.

In his April 11, 2024 speech to the U.S. Congress, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated that U.S. leadership on the global stage is 'indispensable' and said 'Ukraine of today may be East Asia of tomorrow,' warning that Indo-Pacific countries including Japan could face similar threats without American intervention.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Russia appeared to be on the verge of handing back the Northern Territories to Japan during the early 2010s. During this period, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pursued diplomatic talks, joint tourism projects, and Japanese investment in Russian economic development to create sufficient goodwill for an agreement, but Russia squandered this opportunity.

Following World War II, Japan adopted a policy of pacifism and passivism in its foreign policy, purposefully avoiding direct military engagement in regional conflicts. According to Brookings Institution, this approach proved extremely lucrative for Japan economically and allowed it to weather various crises, revolutions, and wars in the Indo-Pacific and East Asia since WWII, coming out practically undamaged in all cases.

A March 2022 survey revealed that 77% of Japanese citizens believed that the international community needed to band together to stop the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with respondents worrying that territorial changes Russia enforced could pave the way for future attempts at change, such as a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

Since 2015, Russia has been steadily increasing its military presence in the Northern Territories. Satellite imagery shows Putin has built infrastructure reaching as close as 14 miles away from Hokkaido, including barracks large enough for 7,000 people on Kunashiri island and storage of Bal anti-ship missiles (ASMs) on that same island, which lies just 10 miles from Japanese territory.

The Bretton Woods system required currencies to peg themselves to the U.S. dollar, and this institutional arrangement contributed to Japan's extended periods of economic success during the post-WWII era.

The Gulf War of 1991 marked a turning point in Japan's foreign policy evolution, when Japan contributed $13 billion to support coalition forces but refused to dedicate its own military forces. This 'checkbook diplomacy' was criticized internationally, prompting Japan to reconsider its approach to international cooperation.

Muneo Suzuki was the first foreign politician Putin received after becoming Russia's president and served as an unofficial advisor on Russia's policies under Abe, but is now working under a cloud of internal suspicion due to his imprisonment for corruption in the 2000s, with every effort to visit Russia since February 2022 blocked by his own party.

Fumio Kishida visited Kyiv in March 2023 as the first Japanese leader to visit an active conflict zone since World War II, a trip that coincided with Putin's summit in Moscow with China's President Xi Jinping, with both events serving as the drawing of lines in the sand between these four nations.

According to The Carnegie Endowment (October 2023), pro-Russia lobbies in Japan, composed of older politicians, were growing quieter since the 2010s when pro-Russia policies were at their peak. The assassination of Shinzo Abe in July 2022 was the trigger for this turnaround.