Japan, Russia sign economic development pacts; stalemate on territory

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, right, attend a working lunch in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP)

TOKYO – Russia and Japan agreed Friday to hold talks on joint economic development on four islands at the center of a territorial dispute between the countries.

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It was a small step forward that fell far short of breaking the stalemate in the long-running dispute that has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II.

Joint economic development "would help foster trust toward a peace treaty," Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after meetings in Japan over two days.

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Asked about developments in Syria, Putin said that he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are working to launch a new round of peace talks in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

For Putin, the summit meeting marked his first official visit to a G-7 country since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Abe, eager for progress on the territorial issue, invited Putin even though Japan and the other G-7 nations still have sanctions on Russia.

The territorial dispute centers on four southern Kuril islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories. The Soviet Union took the islands in the closing days of World War II, expelling 17,000 Japanese to nearby Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four main islands.

Abe said Friday that he has his own justice, and Putin, his own.

"If we just insist on each other's justice, we can never resolve the problem," he said. "We must make an effort to open a new future in Japan-Russia relations for the new generation."

Putin said he did not know how the island dispute could be resolved, but he said the islands should be seen not as a point of contention point but "a place that brings Japan and Russia together."

Achieving joint economic development is far from a given, because of the dispute over sovereignty. Russia says that any development should be governed by Russian laws, while Japan is pushing for a special framework that in Abe's words would not "infringe the sovereignty positions of either side."

"It's a huge problem," said James Brown, a Japan-Russia expert at Temple University's Japan campus in Tokyo. "There is every chance it will never happen."

Before the news conference, the two countries exchanged a number of economic, cultural, science and sports cooperation agreements.

Russia wants to attract Japanese investment, and Japan hopes that stronger ties through joint economic projects will help resolve the thorny territorial issue over time.

Putin said Japan's economic cooperation will be key to development of Russia's far east.

"Russia and Japan haven't had very much economic cooperation," Putin said earlier Friday. "It is necessary to expand the potential of our economic ties."

The talks started Thursday evening at a hot springs resort in western Japan. On Friday, Putin arrived about 45 minutes late in Tokyo, because of a mechanical problem with his presidential aircraft. He used a backup plane, according to Japanese media.

After the news conference, Abe and Putin spoke at a joint Japan-Russia business forum, and were to visit a judo center before Putin's departure. Putin is well-known for practicing judo.

Putin refuted suggestions that he is using the territorial dispute to wrest economic cooperation from Japan with no intention of making any concessions on the territorial dispute.

"I believe, from a long-term prospect, that we could achieve a historic resolution," he said.

Abe said he and Putin also agreed to start discussing ways for former Japanese residents of the islands to visit their hometowns freely. Up to now, they have been allowed to visit only under special arrangements.