Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera speaks during a joint news conference with Foreign Minister Taro Kono, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu following their meeting in Moscow, Russia July 31, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said on Tuesday that Tokyo had asked Russia to reduce its military activity on a disputed island chain in the Pacific after Moscow beefed up its forces there in response to what it sees as a potential threat.
The territorial dispute over the islands, known as the Kuriles in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, is so acrimonious that Moscow and Tokyo have not yet signed a peace treaty to mark the end of World War Two.
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