Japan PM considers South Kuriles major unsettled problem.

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18/8 Tass 73

TOKYO, August 18 (Itar-Tass) - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan
considers the issue of the South Kuriles one of the major unsettled
problems of his country. The prime minister said it on Wednesday at a
meeting in Tokyo with representatives of the organization uniting former
residents of the islands.
"This is one of the major unsettled problems of the post-war Japan,"
the prime minister said in reply to a query about his approach to the
talks on the South Kuriles.
He reiterated the traditional stance of Tokyo, saying he seeks the
signing of a peace treaty with Russia on the basis of the recognition of
Japan's sovereignty over South Kurile Islands.
Activists of the movement for the return of what Japan calls its
Northern Territories reproach Prime Minister Naoto Kan, saying that unlike
his predecessors he does not demonstrate much activity in that issue.
Right after assuming the post of prime minister, Naoto Kan admitted
that he had not looked into the issue of the South Kuriles and did not
know much about the details of that thorny issue in relations between
Japan and Russia.
-0-zhe/gor


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