Japan's Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe struck a conciliatory tone Friday at an unusually low-key
annual rally demanding the return of islands occupied by Russia, hours
before he left for the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Abe will attend the
opening ceremony of the Games in southern Russia later Friday where he
will also meet President Vladimir Putin, the latest step in an
increasingly close working relationship.
"I will hold the fifth
summit with President Putin tomorrow," Abe, who took power in December
2012, told the annual gathering demanding the return of the Northern
Territories, four islands and some islets Japan claims but Russia
administers as the Southern Kurils.
"I am resolved to
address the negotiation patiently so as to reach the final goal of
solving the issue of the Northern Territories," he said, calling it "the
most concerning matter left between Japan and Russia".
The two nations have not
signed a peace treaty because of the territorial dispute which began
when Soviet troops seized the islands in the last gasps of World War II.
The gathering in Tokyo
is usually a rambunctious affair, with nationalist politicians and
activists making hot-headed demands for the immediate return of islands
that were home to a few hundred Japanese until foreign troops arrived.
But its timing this
year, just hours ahead of Abe's attendance at the Sochi Olympics opening
ceremony, meant the rhetoric was toned down.
"As I have agreed with
President Putin, I have to say that it has been abnormal that a peace
treaty has not been signed between Japan and Russia even 68 years after
the war," Abe said.
"We need to tackle it, with the government and the people all together, so as to move forward the negotiations with Russia."
Observers say the spat is unlikely to be resolved on this visit, although progress is being made.
Some expect that a final
settlement will see Russia retain the two larger islands, while the two
smaller ones are returned to Japan -- a solution Moscow first offered
in 1956.
Any movement on the
issue would mark a big achievement for Abe amid territorial disputes
with both China and South Korea over two separate archipelagos.
The row with Beijing is
particularly nasty and frequently involves paramilitary stand-offs, with
some commentators warning it could degenerate into armed confrontation
that might drag the United States in.
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