Japan Hopes Putin’s Visit Could Help Resolve Kuril Issue – Former FM

Vice President of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party Masahiko Komura said that Tokyo is hoping that Russian President Vladimir Putin could discuss the issue of the disputed Kuril Islands during a visit to the Japanese capital.

TOKYO (Sputnik) – Tokyo is hoping that Russian President Vladimir Putin could discuss the issue of the disputed Kuril Islands during a visit to the Japanese capital, Vice President of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Masahiko Komura said at a meeting with Sergei Naryshkin, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament.

"Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is thinking about this very seriously," Komura, who is Japan's Former Foreign Minister, stressed during the meeting in Tokyo, saying that Japan "would like to conclude a peace agreement solving the territorial issue. And for that we would like President Putin to come to Japan."

According to the Russian President, Moscow has not changed its stance on the disputed Kuril Islands, but is ready to continue dialogue with Japan on the issue.

The disputed islands, called the Southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan, have been administered by Russia since the end of World War II, but the Japanese government lays claim to them. The status of the Southern Kuril Islands was set in the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty that handed over control of the islands to Russia.

In February, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed, to the Russian Foreign Ministry's concern, to reclaim the islands.