Most Japanese citizens back peace treaty talks with Russia

The majority of Japanese citizens support talks on drafting a peace treaty with Russia based on the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, according to an opinion poll carried out by the country’s largest private TV company Fuji and daily Sankei Shimbun.

The survey revealed that some 64.9% of respondents back the idea of stepping up talks between Russia and Japan based on the 1956 agreements. Another 27.3% of Japanese are not enthusiastic about the proposal.

Nearly 36% of participants of the poll believe that Tokyo would be just satisfied by the handover of Shikotan and the uninhabited island of Habomai, TASS reported. However, another 61.6% of respondents say that Tokyo should strive for the ownership of two large islands of Iturup and Kunashir.

At the meeting in Singapore on November 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to intensify Russian-Japanese talks on concluding a peace treaty based on the Joint Declaration signed on October 19, 1956 on ceasing the state of war.