AFP, Tokyo
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is planning to attend the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics, reports said Friday, despite calls for a boycott over Russia’s anti-gay laws.
He is also expected to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Games, Kyodo News and the Asahi Shimbun daily said.
Abe’s attendance would put him out of step with ally the United States and with Germany, whose leaders are unlikely to be at the February 7 event amid international unease at what is seen as illiberal Russian legislation.
