(MENAFN- QNA) Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has renewed his determination to resolve the long-standing territorial dispute with Russia.
Abe spoke on Saturday at a national convention in Tokyo to call for the return of four Russian-held islands claimed by Japan, Japan's (NHK World) reported.
February 7th is Northern Territories Day in Japan. The convention was attended by former residents of the islands.
The issue of the four islands has kept Tokyo and Moscow from concluding a peace treaty since the end of World War Two.
Abe said this year marks the 70th year since the end of the war and that he thinks it is abnormal that the two countries have not yet signed a peace treaty.
He noted that former islanders are aging and that he is determined to work to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
Abe also said he has developed a relationship based on trust with Russian President Vladimir Putin through their meetings on 10 occasions. He said that when they met in November at the APEC summit in Beijing, they agreed to begin preparations for the Russian leader to visit Japan this year.
In an 1855 treaty, Japan and Tsarist Russia recognized the four islands as belonging to Japan. The Japanese government maintains that the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says the Soviet Union illegally occupied them after World War Two.
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