Japan Tones Down Language On Kurils Issue In New Foreign Policy Report - Reports

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd April, 2019) The Japanese Foreign Ministry in its Diplomatic Bluebook, an annual report on the country's foreign policy, refrained from claiming ownership of the South Kuril Islands, which is a matter of dispute between Moscow and Tokyo, local media reported.

The Kyodo news agency reported that the last year's Diplomatic Bluebook explicitly stated that a group of four Kuril islands � Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai � belonged to Japan, while in the new report Tokyo softened the tone and said that Russia and Japan were working together to resolve the territorial dispute.

The Russian-Japanese relations have long been complicated by the fact that the two nations never signed a permanent peace treaty after the end of World War II.

The deal was never reached because of a disagreement over the group of islands that are claimed by both countries. They are collectively referred to as the Southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Japan in December 2016, the relations between the two nations have been improving, with the two sides agreeing to develop joint projects on the disputed islands.

In January, Russia and Japan engaged in full-scale talks aimed at eventually signing a permanent peace treaty. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, held two rounds of negotiations on signing long-pending peace treaty � in January and February.