Japan vows to settle island dispute with Russia
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed to resolve a territorial dispute with Russia over an island chain that both countries claim.
Ties between Moscow and Tokyo have been overshadowed for decades by a persisting row over four Pacific islands close to Japan's north coast, known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.
“As I have agreed with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, it is abnormal that Japan and Russia have not concluded a peace treaty,” Abe said on Saturday during a gathering in Tokyo.
The four disputed islands were occupied by the former Soviet Union forces at the conclusion of World War II, but are still claimed by Japan.
Moscow and Tokyo have never signed a permanent peace treaty following the end of World War II because of the dispute over the islands.
“I am determined to continue working tenaciously on this issue... in full accordance with the government's fundamental policy of resolving the issue... and concluding a peace treaty with Russia,” the Japanese premier added.
Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, meanwhile, described the dispute as the biggest stumbling block obstructing relations between Japan and Russia.
Japan is also engaged in another dispute with China over a group of uninhabited yet strategically-important islands in the East China Sea, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.
Tensions grew after Tokyo nationalized part of the resource-rich islands in 2012.
MR/NN/HRB
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