MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Japanese government is preparing to send Foreign Ministry representatives as well as other officials from the transport, health, labor, natural resources and environmental ministries to intergovernmental deliberations with their Russian counterparts from the start of next year, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The areas of economic cooperation include tourism, healthcare, environmental protection and fishing, the publication added, noting that the Japanese Foreign Ministry had looked into the legal aspect of launching economic projects on the territory during an internal meeting on Monday.
26 November 2016, 11:35 GMT
The sides are taking a step forward in resolving the Kuril Islands standoff after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the second rounds of talks on the issue earlier this month. The two leaders agreed to create a special regime on the islands leading to the establishment of joint economic projects. Putin and Abe also dealt with the long-standing issue of the technical state of war between the two countries which has remained unresolved since World War II.
Moscow and Tokyo never signed a permanent peace treaty after the World War II due to Tokyo's claims to Russia's Southern Kurils, encompassing Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai.
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