JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER IN MOSCOW FOR TALKS…

On the eve of a much-anticipated visit to Russia by Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura, Moscow and Tokyo yesterday appeared to be offering divergent views over how the two countries might best move toward a full normalization of relations. Komura, who is to arrive in Moscow today, has indicated that he hopes by his visit to accelerate Japanese-Russian negotiations on a peace treaty that would formally end World War II. That statement reportedly surprised Russian diplomats, who suggested yesterday that there is no need to speed up the treaty talks in any way.

Indeed, according to one top-ranking Russian diplomat, “a fully workable draft” of the treaty already exists–one that for the most part requires only some minor reworking of the language involved. There is, however, one major point of disagreement still to be resolved, he said. Not surprisingly, it involves the Russian-Japanese dispute over the four south Kuril Islands. The diplomat suggested that the territorial row is now the only major obstacle to the signing of a Japanese-Russian peace treaty (Itar-Tass, Kyodo, October 15).

But that one obstacle will be a difficult one to overcome. The current warming in relations between the two countries began with a speech by then Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto in July of last year. In his speech, Hashimoto effectively signaled Tokyo’s willingness to de-emphasize the territorial issue in order to improve relations with Russia and ultimately pave the way for the two countries to sign a peace treaty formally ending World War II.

…A LEGACY IN PART FROM FORMER PRIME MINISTER HASHIMOTO.