TOKYO, October 18. /TASS/. Tokyo unwaveringly stands for solving the territorial issue and concluding a peace treaty with Moscow, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary General Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press conference on Tuesday, answering a question about the upcoming anniversary of the signing of the 1956 Soviet-Japanese joint declaration on October 19.

"The joint declaration signed on October 19, 1956, is an important document that restored diplomatic relations between Japan and the USSR and at the same time was the starting point for the future peace treaty negotiation process," he said, reiterating that Tokyo considered it unacceptable to shift responsibility to Japan for the halt in peace treaty talks. "The Japanese government is firmly committed to resolving the territorial issue and concluding a peace treaty," he emphasized.

After the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, Japan imposed several packages of anti-Russian sanctions. In connection with this, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow halted talks with Tokyo on a peace treaty.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated in his keynote speech at a meeting of the lower house of parliament in early October that the Japanese government would stick to its policy aimed at resolving the territorial issue and concluding a peace treaty with Russia. At the same time, he said, Tokyo would continue its sanctions policy against Moscow and support Kiev. When commenting on these statements, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that peace talks with Japan were impossible since Tokyo imposed sanctions and provided military assistance to Kiev.

Moscow and Tokyo have been in negotiations on a peace treaty based on the outcome of World War II since the mid-20th century. The main obstacle to this remains the disagreement over rights to the southern part of the Kuril Islands. After WWII, the entire archipelago was incorporated into the Soviet Union, but Japan disputes the ownership of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and a group of small uninhabited islands. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stressed that Russia’s sovereignty over these islands is based on a firm legal foundation and is indisputable.