Putin in Japan hoping trade can overcome Kurils dispute
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-11-21 09:01

Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a resolution of disputes with Japan as he sought more trade between the two countries whose ties have been hampered for 60 years over the status of four small islands.

Putin brought a delegation of 100 business leaders for his first trip to Japan in five years but few expect any breakthrough on four Kuril islands off Japan's northern coast seized by Moscow in 1945.

The two countries have yet to sign a peace treaty formally ending World War II, but trade has been growing as Russia sorely needs Japanese investment in its Far East.

Russian President Vladimir Putin waves upon arrival at Haneda international airport in Tokyo November 20, 2005. [Reuters]

"I would like very much that in the coming years we could establish such relations as those whose foundations we have built these last few years," Putin told reporters.

Putin said that recent ties "give us hope that we will be able to construct relations of friendship, understanding and respect for each other, respect for our traditions and history and solve all the questions which remain unresolved until now.

"And, on the basis of the solution of these questions, we will develop further our relations," he said after visiting an exhibit by Japanese and Russian artists on the 52nd floor of the towering Roppongi Hills complex

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso, meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov last week at an Asia-Pacific meeting in South Korea, called on the two countries to look at joint economic projects for the islands.

But Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has already expressed doubts that any agreement will come out of his summit with Putin on Monday, saying there was a "deep gulf" in views between the countries over the islands.

Russia also wants Japan to pay half of the projected 16-billion-dollar price tag on an oil pipeline linking Siberian reserves to the Pacific, but Tokyo wants guarantees first that Japan -- not growing rival China -- will be the priority recipient.

Japan will formally back Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization during Putin's three-day visit and sign a deal for Japan to help dismantle Soviet nuclear submarines.

"It is essential to attract Japan into the Russian economy," said Andrei Fyodorov, an expert at the Kremlin-linked Foreign Policy and Defense Council. "There is a lot of money available in Japan."

But not everyone in Japan is as enthusiastic about business with Russia. Trade between the countries amounted to a below-potential nine billion dollars last year.

"For Japan, Russia is a minor economic player," said Akihiro Iwashita, a professor at Hokkaido University specializing in Russian diplomacy.

"Japan's economic aid would be not enough for Russia to lose face by making any concession on the Kuril islands issue," he said.

The ghosts of World War II hang over the dispute involving the islands, whose Japanese residents were expelled after the Soviet takeover.

Many Russians oppose giving up a proud conquest from the war and fear it could open up new claims by other countries unhappy with post-1945 borders.

In Japan, however, nationalist politicians are keen to make a "normal country" free from the painful memories of World War II defeat.

The four islands, known to the Japanese as the Northern Territories, are one of a series of tiny spots on the map that Tokyo disputes with its neighbors.

One potential solution drafted by Russian experts would entail a peace treaty with Japan within two to three years with a timetable for a phased handover over 50 years, a source close to the proposal said.

Putin had been invited to visit Japan in 2005 to mark 150 years since the two countries established diplomatic ties and 100 years since their first peace treaty. But the Kuril dispute had cast doubts on the visit.

Putin last visited Japan in September 2000, a few months after taking office.