Russian Foreign Minister Meets Japanese Counterpart In Tokyo

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Friday, where they are expected to discuss territorial disputes and the possibility of a Japan-Russia summit. Japan is concerned about a possible Russian plan to build a naval base on a western Pacific island chain, part of which are claimed by Tokyo. Japan claims a southern segment of the island chain, which was seized by Soviet troops at the end of World War Two. The territorial row has kept the two countries from signing a formal peace treaty ever since. The disputed islands are called the Northern Territories in Japan and Southern Kuriles in Russia.