--- description: The two ceased hostilities at the end of WW II but did not formally conclude a pact because of territorial disputes over the Kuril Islands title: Japan Wants to Sign a Peace Treaty With Russia image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt119d09a5bf2e9222/69887759e20a871511a8edee/gettyimages-179561726.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Japan Wants to Sign a Peace Treaty With Russia After 70 Years by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 4, 2016 8:57 AM CUT  Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, greets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the G-20 summit on Sept. 5, 2013, in St. Petersburg Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, greets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the G-20 summit on Sept. 5, 2013, in St. PetersburgGetty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 4, 2016 8:57 AM CUT Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, has said that Tokyo would like to sign a peace treaty with Moscow. The two powers ceased hostilities at the end of World War II but did not formally conclude a peace pact because of territorial disputes over the Kuril Islands, which Japan refers to as its Northern Territories, the BBC [reports](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35219262 "undefined"). Addressing reporters in Tokyo, Abe said that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed that the lack of a formal treaty was “abnormal” and called for a summit. “Without a summit meeting, this Northern Territories problem cannot be resolved,” he said, according to the BBC. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35219262 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4165854/japan-russia-peace-treaty-kuril-islands-ww2/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4165854/japan-russia-peace-treaty-kuril-islands-ww2/"},"headline":"Japan Wants to Sign a Peace Treaty With Russia After 70 Years","datePublished":"2016-01-04T08:57:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:44:12.426Z","description":"The two nations never got around to it at the end of World War II","url":"https://time.com/4165854/japan-russia-peace-treaty-kuril-islands-ww2/","keywords":["russia","Japan"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt119d09a5bf2e9222/69887759e20a871511a8edee/gettyimages-179561726.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt119d09a5bf2e9222/69887759e20a871511a8edee/gettyimages-179561726.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"G20 Leaders Meet In St. Petersburg For The Summit","caption":"G20 Leaders Meet In St. Petersburg For The Summit","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4165854/japan-russia-peace-treaty-kuril-islands-ww2/","name":"Japan Wants to Sign a Peace Treaty With Russia After 70 Years"}}]}] ```