Japan and Russia agreed Monday to hold a bilateral summit meeting in Russia's Irkutsk on March 25 as planned, regardless of mounting calls in Japan for Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to step down.

At a vice-ministerial meeting held in Tokyo to prepare for the summit, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Losyukov told his Japanese counterpart, Ryozo Kato, that Japan's domestic politics would not influence Russia's decision to hold the meeting, a Foreign Ministry official said.

Mori survived a no-confidence motion submitted by the opposition parties at the Diet earlier in the day, but his fate is still uncertain amid his plunging popularity.

The talks were held to pave the way for Mori's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the talks, the two leaders are expected to sum up bilateral peace treaty negotiations held until the end of 2000 -- the now expired target date for concluding a peace treaty -- and set the direction for future negotiations, the official said.

Following the summit, Mori and Putin are expected to issue a joint declaration under which Japan hopes to confirm the validity of all past agreements regarding a bilateral territorial dispute.

The territorial dispute involves sovereignty over islands off northeast Hokkaido -- Kunashiri, Etorofu, Shikotan and the Habomai islets -- seized by Soviet troops at the end World War II.

The ministry official said the two sides have not decided how they would announce the outcome of the March 25 talks, but said issuing of the joint declaration "is of course considered as one option."

Issuing a written document is aimed at confirming the validity of a 1956 bilateral pact, which states that Shikotan and the Habomai islets will be returned to Japan after a peace treaty is concluded.

Moscow called the declaration invalid in the 1960s. But during a visit to Japan in September, Putin confirmed verbally, for the first time since then, that the declaration is valid.

Japan also hopes to confirm the validity of the 1993 Tokyo Declaration, which stated that resolving the sovereignty issue over all four disputed islands is necessary for concluding a peace treaty.

By clearly confirming the two agreements in writing, Japan aims to win Russia's assurance that future negotiations should focus on the return of Kunashiri and Etorofu.

However, Russian officials have reportedly indicated that Moscow considers the possible return of Shikotan and the Habomai islets as the final settlement.

It remains to be seen how the two sides can narrow the differences at the Irkutsk summit.

Kato and Losyukov agreed the two leaders should also discuss economic cooperation and exchange views on international relations at their meeting, the official said.

The summit meeting was originally set for Feb. 24 and 25, but was postponed at Russia's request, right after Foreign Minister Yohei Kono returned from a visit to Moscow in January.