Territorial issue in the way of RF-Japan visa-free regime-Fukuda

TOKYO, June 18 (Itar-Tass) - Visa-free travel between Russia and Japan will be possible only after the settlement of the territorial issue and conclusion of a peace treaty between the two countries, Japanese Premier Yasuo Fukuda stated in the interview, which he granted on Tuesday to the "Moscow Club" of leaders of the key news agencies of the world.

"To make this possible," Fukuda said, meaning visa-free exchanges,
"it is necessary to conclude a peace treaty and this requires the
settlement of the territorial problem".

He also stressed that absence of a peace treaty was an obstacle to the
development of effective cooperation both in the economic and humanitarian
domains. "Japanese companies wish to boost investments in the Russian Far
East and in East Siberia, but lack of a peace treaty and the unsettled
territorial problem are hampering factors," the prime minister stated.

"It is necessary to settle this problem so that we could cooperate in
the full sense of the word," Fukuda stressed, adding that the unsettled
territorial dispute with Russia "is a big problem for the people of Japan".