Japan reasserts claim, asks Russia to return Kuril Islands

Japan on Thursday reasserted its sovereignty over four of the Kuril islands - known as the Northern Territories - which have been occupied by Russia since the end of World War II.

Soviet Union troops had occupied the islands - Kunashir, Shikotan, Habomai and Iturup - known in Russia as the Southern Kurils, in 1945.

Since then, the issue has strained relations between the two countries.

During the event, Abe said he hoped to continue negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin for a peace treaty to resolve the long-running territorial dispute.

"It is not easy to resolve the issue that remains 73 years after the war. However, we must do it," Abe said.

In January, Abe and Putin began negotiations in Moscow for the signing of the pact but preparations for a summit between the leaders had stalled when Tokyo made it clear it wanted the islands back.

Abe and Putin are scheduled to hold another summit in Tokyo in June to continue negotiations within the framework of the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956.

According to Tokyo, the declaration provides for the return of two of the four islands - Shikotan and Habomai - prior to the signing of a peace treaty.

Meanwhile, former Japanese residents of the Kuril Islands and their descendants organized a petition drive on Thursday in Sapporo, demanding those territories be returned to Japan.

End of January, Abe had reiterated that ending the territorial dispute with Russia is one of the priorities of his government.

"Together with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin we share the determination to put an end to this issue, which has been in place for more than 70 years after the war, without leaving it for the future generations," Abe had said at the year's first Parliamentary session.

His remarks had come after the Russian foreign minister had reiterated that the sovereignty of the islands was not up for discussion.

"We have called the attention of our Japanese friends to the fact that the sovereignty of these islands is not up for discussion: it is territory of the Russian Federations," Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister had said in mid-January, adding that he told his Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, it was unacceptable for Japan to keep referring to the islands in question as its Northern Territories.

The Kuril islands are spread over an area of 10,502 square kilometres (4,005 square miles), stretching from northern Japan to the southern tip of Russia's Kamchatka, separating the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean.

Several western institutions, such as the European Union, have postured in favour of Russia handing the islands back to Japan.