The Russian Foreign Ministry announced Friday that Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida is due to visit Russia starting Sunday for talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.
Kishida had initially planned to visit Russia in April last year but postponed his plan due to tensions stemming from such issues as Japanese sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis.
Tokyo is envisaging that Kishida's trip will eventually lead to a long-overdue visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Japan by the end of this year, which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is hoping to realize.
The foreign ministerial talks will address the issue of a bilateral peace treaty that has yet to be concluded, the ministry said, adding that progress on this issue will not be possible if Japan fails to recognize postwar historic realities, in an apparent reference to a territorial dispute between the two countries.
Moscow holds the view that what Japan calls the Northern Territories are now Russian as a result of World War II. Japan continues to lay claim to these islands, which are called the Southern Kurils in Russia.
The Russian ministry also said the upcoming foreign ministerial talks will serve as an opportunity to improve bilateral relations soured by the sanctions against Russia.
The ministry announced that the Japan-Russia Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Issues, cochaired by Kishida and Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, will also be held.