Japan seeks territorial solution with Russia 70 yrs after joint declaration

The Japanese government on Monday vowed, despite worsening ties, to continue seeking a solution with Russia on a longstanding territorial dispute over a group of islands off Hokkaido, as the countries mark 70 years since a joint declaration providing for a partial return.The 1956 accord, under which Japan and the then-Soviet Union normalized diplomatic relations, stipulates the return following a peace treaty of two of the four disputed islands -- Shikotan and the Habomai islet group -- of what are called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia."Even amid the dif…READ FULL ARTICLE