"The interdepartmental council has been created headed by me in order for the aspects of the joint operations to be performed in a good pace," Kishida said at the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Bonn.
The foreign minister also noted that he had been pleased with the opportunity to meet his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Bonn.
He added that after the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Japan in December 2016, a tremendous job has been carried out in the sphere of joint economic operations with Russia on the Kurils. According to Kishida, the recent consultations between deputy foreign ministers of Russia and Japan in Moscow also featured constructive discussions.
An agreement on joint economic activities on Southern Kuril Islands was reached during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Japan on December 15-16, 2016, following the creation of the Japan Council for joint economic activities with Russia on February 7. The first round of the consultations as part of the council is scheduled for March 14.
Moscow and Tokyo have not signed a peace treaty after World War II, when Southern Kuril Islands become part of the Soviet territory. At the same time Japan disputes the territorial belonging of the Kurils, which it calls the Northern Territories.
