Japan, Russia agree on economic ties; stalemate on territory

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a joint news conference in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Russia and Japan agreed Friday to hold talks on joint economic development on four islands at the center of a territorial dispute between the countries. (Pool Photo by ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/AP)

TOKYO — Russia and Japan agreed Friday to hold talks on joint economic development of four islands at the center of a decades-old territorial dispute between the countries.

It was a small step forward that fell far short of breaking the stalemate in a dispute that has prevented Russia and Japan from signing a peace treaty formally ending their World War II hostilities.

Joint development “would help foster trust toward a peace treaty,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after two days of meetings in Japan.

Asked about developments in Syria, Putin said he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are working to launch a new round of peace talks in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

For Putin, the summit meeting was his first official visit to a G-7 country since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Abe, eager for progress on the territorial issue, invited Putin even though Japan and the other G-7 nations still have sanctions on Russia.

The dispute centers on four southern Kuril islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories. The former Soviet Union took the islands in the closing days of World War II, expelling 17,000 Japanese to nearby Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s four main islands.

Abe said Friday that he has his own idea of what is right for the islands, as does Putin.

“If we just insist on our own justice, we can never resolve the problem,” he said. “We must make an effort to open a new future in Japan-Russia relations for the new generation.”

Putin said he did not know how the dispute could be resolved, but that the islands should be seen not as a point of contention but “a place that brings Japan and Russia together.”

Former island resident Koichi Iwata, 87, told Japanese public broadcaster NHK that change won’t come easily.

“We are different people. We lost the war, and we feel that we were taken advantage of,” he said. “But there is hope. They say win-win, which means that it is good for both peoples, right?”

In a statement, Japan and Russia said they will explore joint projects in fisheries, tourism, health and environment on the disputed islands, though details are yet to be worked out.

An agreement on joint economic development is far from a given because of the dispute over sovereignty. Similar ideas in the past have failed because of that. Russia says any development should be governed by Russian laws, while Japan is pushing for a special framework that in Abe’s words would not “infringe on the sovereignty positions of either side.”

“It’s a huge problem,” said James Brown, a Japan-Russia expert at Temple University’s Japan campus in Tokyo. “There is every chance it will never happen.”

The two countries also exchanged a number of broader economic, cultural, science and sports cooperation agreements.

Russia wants to attract Japanese investment, and Japan hopes that stronger ties through joint economic projects will help resolve the thorny territorial issue over time.

Putin said Japanese involvement will be crucial to development of Russia’s far east.

“Russia and Japan haven’t had very much economic cooperation,” Putin said earlier Friday. “It is necessary to expand the potential of our economic ties.”

The talks began Thursday evening at a hot springs resort in western Japan. On Friday, Putin arrived about 45 minutes late in Tokyo because of a mechanical problem with his presidential aircraft. He used a backup plane, according to Japanese media.

After the news conference, Abe and Putin spoke at a Japan-Russia business forum and visited a judo center before Putin’s departure. Putin is well-known for practicing judo.

Putin refuted suggestions that he is using the territorial issue to wrest economic cooperation from Japan with no intention of making any concessions on the dispute.

“I believe, from a long-term prospect, that we could achieve a historic resolution,” he said.

Abe said he and Putin also agreed to start discussing ways for former Japanese residents of the islands to visit their hometowns freely. Up until now, they have been allowed to go to the islands only under special arrangements.