Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan plans to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to state his government's position on a territorial dispute, NHK TV reported on Friday.
Medvedev recently aggravated relations with Japan by becoming the first Russian or Soviet leader to visit one of the four Kuril Islands (called the Northern Territories by Japan), which both Russia and Japan have laid claim to since World War II.
"The prime minister is to express regret and reiterate the government's position that the islands are Japanese territory," the report said.
Presidential spokeswoman Natalya Timakova earlier said Medvedev planned to meet with Kan on the sidelines of an APEC summit in Yokohama on November 13-14.
"The Japanese side traditionally raises the issue of the Kuril islands at such meetings. Russia's position on the matter is immutable," she said.
Both Moscow and Tokyo have laid claim to the Kuril Islands since they were occupied by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. The dispute over the islands has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty to formally end World War II hostilities.
TOKYO, November 12 (RIA Novosti)
