Japan's Govt. Committed To Island Negotiations
Japan's top government spokesperson says the country is still committed to negotiations for resolving a dispute over four islands controlled by Russia and claimed by Japan.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu spoke to reporters on Monday after Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated that Moscow will refuse to engage in negotiations in accordance with its amended Constitution.
Constitutional amendments made last July include a ban on ceding any parts of the country's territory.
Kato said when Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Putin spoke over the phone in September, the two leaders reaffirmed the agreement made at a bilateral summit in 2018.
At that time Putin and then-prime minister Abe Shinzo agreed that the two sides will speed up talks for concluding a peace treaty based on a 1956 joint declaration.
Kato added that the government will continue to tenaciously work in line with the policy of resolving the territorial issue and signing a peace treaty.
Russia controls the islands. Japan claims them. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says the islands were illegally occupied after World War Two.