"For the time being, it will be solved project by project, on the case-by-case basis… We need to try first to do that, case by case, but in parallel we need to agree on a framework," Maruyama said, when asked if the mission's activities would be regulated by Russian or Japanese laws.
The foreign press secretary said that both sides believed they were entering "a new phase of the preparations for the joint economic activities."
Earlier on Saturday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Moscow and discussed joint economic activities of the two countries on the Kuril Islands, claimed by both countries, in detail. They agreed that a Japanese business mission may visit the islands in July or August this year.
Russia and Japan are seeking joint economic activities on the disputed islands in five fields: agriculture, cultivation of vegetables in greenhouses, organization of tourist trips, hydropower, and waste recycling.
The Kuril Islands are the subject of a long-standing territorial dispute between Russia and Japan. The latter lays claim to Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan islands and the Habomai group of islets. The dispute has prevented Moscow and Tokyo from signing a peace treaty after World War II.
