With China rising in the Pacific and Japan increasingly frozen out of the Korean Peninsula, Tokyo is hoping for a win with Russia. Warming ties with Moscow would serve Japan's interests well, giving it a greater foothold on the Eurasian landmass and helping it to counterbalance the tentative alignment between China and Russia. In fact, this has been a key goal for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe since his most recent term as prime minister began in 2012. With Abe's political fortunes in jeopardy and his continued tenure as prime minister in question after September, he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 25 and attend numerous events marking the start of what's being called the "Year of Japan-Russia." Domestically, this is an opportunity for Abe to show he has the ability to score a diplomatic victory at a fragile time in his political career. However, Japan has...