The Japanese government appears to have renewed an attempt to move stalled negotiations with Russia over the Northern Territories. At a recent Tokyo rally, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said that in order to raise Japan-Russia relations to a higher stage, it is indispensable that both countries sign a peace treaty by solving the territorial dispute.
The government reportedly plans a meeting between Mr. Fukuda and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia before the latter steps down on May 6, prior to July's Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido. In a rare move, Mr. Putin expressed to former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori in December his hope of meeting Mr. Fukuda. As things stand now, however, there are no signs of a tangible result coming from such a meeting between Mr. Fukuda and Mr. Putin.
In 1956, Japan and the then Soviet Union issued a joint declaration stating that Russia will return the Habomai islets and Shikotan Island to Japan after a peace treaty is signed. In 1993, Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa and Russian President Boris Yeltsin issued the Tokyo Declaration, which said that Japan and Russia would sign a peace treaty after solving the territorial issue involving Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai islands. Japan calls for the return of all four islands, while Russia's traditional position is that returning the Shikotan and Habomai islands should solve the issue.