Japan is committed to the policy of signing a peace treaty with Russia, and considers the absence of such a document 80 years after the end of World War II a regrettable fact. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stated this in his video message, which was shown at the National Rally to Demand the Return of the Northern Territories, as the southern part of the Kuril Islands is called in Japan, TASS reports.

The Japanese premier is currently on a visit to the US.

“It is regrettable that even now, 80 years after the end of the war, the issue of the Northern Territories has not been resolved, and a peace treaty has not been signed between Japan and Russia,” Ishiba said. "The [Japanese] government is committed to resolving the ownership issue of the four northern islands and signing a peace treaty [with Russia]."

Also, the Japanese prime minister repeated previous claims that "the situation between Japan and Russia remains complicated" in connection with the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.