JAPAN’S far-right Prime Minister said today that she was committed to signing a peace treaty with Russia.

Since the mid-20th century, Moscow and Tokyo have been negotiating a peace deal following the end of World War II. 

The main obstacle to an agreement is a dispute over the sovereignty of the southern Kuril Islands. 

After the war, the entire archipelago was incorporated into the USSR, but Japan contests sovereignty over Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and some other small uninhabited islands. 

The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly insisted that Moscow’s claim to sovereignty over these territories is backed by international law.

In her inaugural address to the newly elected Japanese parliament, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the Japanese government aimed “to resolve the territorial issue and conclude a peace treaty” with Russia.

But Ms Takaichi went on to slam Russia for its nearly four-year-old invasion of Ukraine and called for an immediate end to the conflict.

In March 2022, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Moscow was suspending the peace treaty negotiations with Tokyo in response to Japan’s unilateral sanctions against Russia over what the Russians describe as its special military operation. 

Moscow also withdrew from talks with Tokyo on establishing joint ventures in the southern Kuril Islands.