Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Monday denied a media report that the government is discussing jointly administering with Russia the disputed islands off Hokkaido as it seeks a breakthrough deal on a row that has prevented the two nations from inking a peace treaty to formally end World War II.
The Nikkei financial daily reported Monday that Moscow has already been informed of some details about such a proposal, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hoping to kick off negotiations on the plan with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at a summit slated for Dec. 15 in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Abe's home turf.
The dispute has long been an obstacle to the two nations signing a peace deal. The four islands have been under the administration of Russia, where they are known as the Southern Kurils, since the former Soviet Union took control of them at the war's end.