MOSCOW, October 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will arrive in Tokyo on October 23 on a two-day official visit, his ministry announced on Tuesday.
Lavrov will meet for the first time with his Japanese counterpart, Masahiko Komura. The 65-year-old former defense minister was appointed foreign minister on September 25 in a government reshuffle.
Talks will address both bilateral issues and key international topics of concern to both sides.
High on the agenda will be a long-running territorial dispute between the Russia and Japan over the southernmost Kuril Islands, which the Soviet Union annexed after the Second World War, and which are now part of Russia's Sakhalin Region.