The paper deals with the Russian-Japanese interests-oriented model of cooperation in the 1990s within the framework of the diplomatic tactics and mechanisms introduced into the bilateral negotiations. In this research, the application of various negotiation instruments applied by the Japanese diplomacy toward the USSR and the Russian Federation in the late 1980s–1990s is analyzed to demonstrate the process of establishing cooperation, despite territorial disagreements. According to the specific historical and political environment, application of the negotiation methods researched in this paper was not allowed before the middle 1980s, and the introduction of a wide range of such tactics within the 1990s is becoming an argument in favor of that point of view that there was welcomed a partnership model between Japan and the Russian Federation. “No-necktie meetings”, leader talks, informal negotiations, “face-to-face diplomacy” applied from the mid-1990s led to the introduction of a positive model of interaction compared to the tactics used by Japan in the early 1990s. The personal contribution of politicians and diplomats to create the foundation for multidimensional cooperation between Russia and Japan was essential. Japanese diplomats Tamba Minoru, Edamura Sumio, Togo Kazuhiko, politicians Nakayama Taro, Hashimoto Ryutaro, Obuchi Keizo, and Mori Yoshiro left a noticeable mark in the processes considered in our research, the works published by them became a valuable source for the analysis of the considered events.