The Japanese Prime Minister called the issue of concluding a peace treaty with Russia “a fight against time” between Tokyo and Moscow. This was reported on the website of his office.
Kishida noted that Japan's basic position is to resolve the issue of the “northern territories” and conclude a peace treaty. According to him, this problem is a “fight against time.” The prime minister stressed that he would like to work diligently to resolve this problem so as not to shift it onto the shoulders of future generations.
In addition, Kishida recalled that immediately after taking office, he phoned Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said that the heads of state agreed to seriously address this problem on the basis of agreements already reached, including those concluded in Singapore in 2018.
Earlier it was reported that Russian and Japanese Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov and Yoshimasa Hayashi held telephone conversations, during which they discussed a peace treaty regarding the ownership of the Kuril Islands. The parties “confirmed their intention to continue the dialogue” in order to conclude peace. “The ministers exchanged views, stressing the intention to develop Japanese-Russian relations in many areas, including in the field of politics, culture and so on, as well as in the direction of concluding a peace treaty,” said the press service of the Japanese minister.
Due to a dispute over the ownership of the southern part of the Kuriles, Moscow and Tokyo cannot sign a peace treaty following World War II. Japan regards Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group of islands as their “northern territories”. In turn, Russia does not recognize the very fact of the territorial dispute.