New National Stadium (Tokyo) New National Stadium (Tokyo) Demolition of old National Stadium was completed in May 2015, then the construction of new stadium began at the same site on 11 December 2016. The original plans for the new stadium were scrapped in July 2015 by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who announced a rebid after a public outcry because of increased building costs. As a result, the new design will not be ready for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, as originally intended. A new design created by architect Kengo Kuma was chosen in December 2015 to replace the original design and is to
Japan–Russia relations leaders decided to sign off on joint projects in five areas — aquaculture, greenhouse farming, tourism, wind power and waste reduction. At the 2018 Thirteenth East Asia Summit in Singapore, Shinzo Abe followed up on a proposal from Vladimir Putin to sign a peace treaty without preconditions by the end of the year. He said that the leaders would seek a peace treaty to the terms of the 1956 Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration. The declaration gave Japan the Habomai islet group and Shikotan while the Soviet Union claimed the remaining islands, but the United States did not allow the 1956 treaty.