Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto expressed his determination July 24 to improve relations with Russia by considerably stepping up traditional government efforts.

Hashimoto said the Japanese government will work to improve bilateral relations based on three principles -- trust, mutual benefit and a long-term perspective. "There is no doubt that working for better bilateral relations is the priority for both the governments of Japan and Russia toward the 21st century," Hashimoto said during a meeting of the Japanese Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai-doyukai).

The prime minister said he hopes that anticipated discussions with Russian President Boris Yeltsin will help to deepen a friendship that was reinvigorated in a meeting last month in Denver during the annual summit of the Group of Seven industrial nations plus Russia. The meeting between the two leaders, initiated by an invitation from Moscow, is expected to take place in late August at the earliest.

Hashimoto called the current atmosphere surrounding the two nations as "favorable as ever" thanks to three years of "frank discussions" dealing with issues related to the jurisdiction of waters around the disputed northern islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islets. The talks concluded earlier this month, clearing a major hurdle in securing the safety of Japanese fishing boats operating in surrounding waters.

"We hope President Yeltsin and I will meet and make progress in the territorial disputes, which have been unresolved for the past 50 years, in a way that benefits both countries," Hashimoto told the meeting, held in Tokyo. Hashimoto also said that planned joint efforts to develop natural resources such as gas and oil in the Far East and Siberia should be enhanced not only to benefit Russia's economic development but also to supply energy to Asian countries, whose rapid economic growth has sparked a demand for increased energy.