Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that he hopes for progress in peace treaty talks with Russia but that the decades-old issue cannot be settled in one meeting.
Abe said he wants to discuss the issue candidly with Russian President Vladimir Putin when he visits Japan on Dec. 15 and 16.
Abe has been betting that his relatively close ties with Putin and the lure of Japanese investment in fields such as medical technology and energy could ease progress in the dispute over four islands seized by Russia at the end of World War II.