TOKYO, November 29. /TASS/. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has stated to the country’s parliament that his government remains committed to resolving "the territorial issue and signing a peace treaty" with Russia, despite the ongoing complications in Russian-Japanese relations.
"Russian-Japanese relations are currently in a poor state, but our country will continue to seek a resolution to the territorial issue and sign a peace treaty," he noted. The Prime Minister repeated the same statement word-for-word from his October speech, when he delivered his first policy address since the election in front of parliament.
Moscow and Tokyo have been negotiating a peace treaty to mark the end of World War II since the mid-20th century. The main obstacle is the issue of jurisdiction over the southern Kuril Islands. After the end of World War II, all of the Kuril Islands were incorporated into the Soviet Union. However, Japan disputes the ownership of Iturup, Kunashir, and Shikotan, along with a number of small uninhabited islands. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly emphasized that Russia’s sovereignty over these islands, which is enshrined in international documents, cannot be questioned.
After Tokyo imposed anti-Russian sanctions over the situation in Ukraine, Russia halted peace treaty negotiations with Japan and halted dialogue on joint economic activities in the South Kuril Islands. Additionally, Moscow rejected to extend partner status in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) to Tokyo.