TOKYO, Japan, Aug 20 (NNN-NHK) – Russian residents and officials, visited Nemuro, in Japan’s northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, to begin an inspection tour related to garbage processing, ahead of one of the joint economic projects between Tokyo and Moscow, slated to start on disputed islands.
The five-day visit, under a visa-free programme between the two countries, will see residents from Kunashiri, one of the disputed islands, along with officials from Russia’s Sakhalin, inspect a waste incineration plant and a recycling facility.
Despite the dispute, and as part of efforts to work towards resolving the row that has hampered bilateral ties between both sides, Japan said, it will provide equipment to Russia, designed to compress garbage.
The islands at the centre of the dispute between Tokyo and Moscow are known as the Northern Territories in Japan, and the Southern Kurils in Russia.
The decades-old territorial spat prevented the two countries from signing a post-World War II peace treaty, and hindered diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries.
Both parties have, however, provisionally agreed to furthering joint economic activities on the islands.
Such activities span defence, search and rescue operations, medical areas, industry promotion and energy development, in line with a previously proposed plan, which also covers aquaculture and tourism.
The multi-faceted cooperation plan, based around five pillars proposed by Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, in 2016, was, purportedly, to become an important foundation for future ties and to help bolster mutual trust.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to promote joint economic activities on the disputed islands.– NNN-NHK
