In a move that could further delay the signing of a peace treaty between the two countries, Russia has rejected starting talks with Japan on the return of two disputed islands despite an agreement made last year, diplomatic sources said Sunday. Russia is concerned that ...
Abe and Putin upbeat on bilateral ties, but progress on territorial dispute continues to elude
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet but fail to reach any major breakthrough in the long-standing territorial dispute.
Has Abe's summit diplomacy paid off?
Seven years and over 80 overseas visits later, Abe has no tangible foreign policy achievements and there is little prospect of this reality changing.
Japan mulls partially lifting ban on chicken meat from Russia ahead of leaders' G20 talks
Japan is considering partially lifting an import ban on chicken meat from Russia, with the two countries' leaders expected to discuss the matter on the sidelines of this week's Group of 20 summit in Osaka, government sources said Monday. Since 2005, Japan has banned imports ...
Russia has no plan to hand over disputed isles to Japan, Putin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that his country has no plan to hand over four Russian-held northwestern Pacific islands to Japan, according to a Russian national television program aired Saturday. In an interview with Putin, a reporter, who claimed to have visited one of ...
Putin says Japan's military cooperation with U.S. is getting in the way of peace talks with Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he wants to conclude a postwar peace treaty with Japan but that the process is challenging due to Tokyo's military cooperation with Washington. Speaking in a meeting with news agencies, Putin said Japan needs to take heed of Russia's ...
Soviet documents reveal Moscow's view on territory seized from Japan at end of WWII
Top Soviet officials were aware that the lack of a reference in the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty to the sovereignty of islands seized from Japan in the closing days of World War II could be exploited in postwar negotiations with Tokyo, declassified documents ...
Lawmaker Hodaka Maruyama's 'war' gaffe puts spotlight on disputed isles
Diet lawmaker Hodaka Maruyama was kicked out of opposition party Nippon Ishin no Kai last month over remarks he made during an exchange excursion to one of the Russian-controlled islands off the coast of Hokkaido that Japan claims as its own. Other opposition parties ...
Russian and Japanese foreign ministers fail to make breakthrough on island issue in Tokyo talks
Progress in the long-standing territorial dispute over Russian-held islands off Hokkaido remained elusive during a meeting between Foreign Minister Taro Kono and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.
Russia-Japan talks on disputed isles go nowhere, 'significant differences' remain
The top diplomats of Japan and Russia say there is a way to go before their countries can resolve a long-standing dispute over the Russian-held islands off Hokkaido.
The drama of the 'Kurillian knot'
Not resolving the territorial dispute with Russia remains a solid option on the table for Tokyo, but choosing it would risk Japan's irrelevance in the region.
Japan and Russia to step up talks on economic activity on disputed isles
Japan and Russia have agreed to start new working-level talks regarding joint economic activity on the four disputed islands off Hokkaido, Foreign Ministry officials said. The director-level task force, launched separately from an existing working-level dialogue involving higher-level officials, is intended to boost coordination on ...
