Japan’s energy trade with Russia is comparatively low.  Sub-par trade volumes between these two Pacific nations are part of the legacy of Japan’s relationship with the Soviet Union in the post-World War II era punctuated by continuing friction over the disputed Kurile Islands, and among other things due to Japan’s domestic priority to stake out an energy future not solely reliant on resource imports for power generation.  However Alex Calvo’s article is as much about the past as it is about the future of Russia, Japan and the Pacific.  The post-Fukushima era is changing Japan’s energy mix and may prove to pave the way for the emergence of Russia as a more powerful Pacific state.