TOKYO, October 28 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian and Japanese leaders need to build relations based on trust to solve bilateral problems, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said on Wednesday.
Tokyo's continued claim over four South Kuril Islands, Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and Habomai, has so far prevented Russia and Japan from signing a formal peace treaty to end World War II hostilities.
"The main thing that is required to solve [bilateral] problems is trust. This is what our relations lacked until now. This is what is required to solve the territorial dispute and sign a peace treaty, about which I spoke in a policy speech," Hatoyama said.
In his policy speech to Japan's parliament on Monday, the prime minister said that enhancing economic and political relations with Russia, settling the territorial dispute and signing a peace treaty were priorities for the new Japanese government.
Japan's parliament, the Diet, began an extraordinary session on Monday, nearly six weeks after Hatoyama took office.
Hatoyama told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last month he wants to resolve the dispute with Russia, and sign a peace agreement.
Hatoyama said that the issue must be resolved "in our generation in order to form new relations between Japan and Russia."
