TOKYO, April 10. /TASS/. Japan considers it necessary to maintain channels of communication with Russia amid the unresolved issues between the two countries, says the annual report of the Japanese Foreign Ministry called the Bluebook presented by Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi at a cabinet meeting on Friday.

The report says that "there are many unresolved issues that need to be resolved" between Japan and Russia as neighboring states this is why "it is necessary to conduct a proper dialogue."

The Foreign Ministry also recommended continuing support for Ukraine and sanctions pressure on Russia, a formulation that has been used in one form or another since 2022. The standard wording about the need to "conclude a peace treaty and resolve the territorial problem" was also used.

Moscow and Tokyo have been negotiating a peace agreement following WWII since the middle of the last century. The main obstacle to this remains the disagreement over the rights to the southern part of the Kuril Islands. After the end of the war, 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 said that Russian sovereignty over these territories, which has an appropriate international legal framework, is beyond doubt.

In March 2022, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow was terminating negotiations with Tokyo on a peace agreement due to Japan's unilateral restrictions on Moscow in connection with the situation in Ukraine. Moscow also withdrew from the dialogue with Tokyo on the establishment of joint economic activities in the southern Kuril Islands.