Tokyo Says Still Awaits Clarification On Joint Economic Activities With Russia On Kurils

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th July, 2021) Japan has so far not received any clarification from Russia regarding joint economic activities in the disputed Kuril Islands in connection with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin's recent visit to the region, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Friday.

Mishustin visited the island of Iturup on Monday, part of the disputed island chain. Ahead of the trip, the prime minister discussed measures to stimulate economic and investment activity in the Kuril Islands with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said that Moscow's proposals to jump-start this cooperation should be finalized and implemented.

"We are in talks with Russia over joint economic activities in the Northern Territories [Japan's endonym for the Kurils]. We are aware of ... Putin's remark. It is necessary to specify more the joint economic activity and promote it, proceeding from the fact that [Japan's] legal position is not violated.

So far, we have not received [from Russia] any specific explanations, for example on duties and so on, on what we know from the media," Motegi said at a press conference.

Discussing what industries should be involved in the joint economic activities will contribute to boosting Russian-Japanese cooperation and bringing it to a new level, the foreign minister added.

Moscow-Tokyo relations have long been complicated by the fact that the countries have never signed a permanent peace treaty following the Second World War. The main stumbling block is their dispute over a group of four islands � Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and Habomai. Both countries are currently making efforts to finalize a peace treaty.

During his visit to the Asian country in 2016, Putin and then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to consider joint economic activity in the disputed islands.