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Koizumi steps up heat over disputed islands

TOKYO, SEPT. 2. The Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, boarded a coast guard patrol boat and viewed a group of Russian-held islands claimed by Japan on Thursday, brushing off protests by Moscow that the trip could harm relations.

Mr. Koizumi departed from the northern island of Hokkaido toward the Kuril islands ahead of 59th anniversary on Friday of the Soviet occupation of them in the weeks following Japan's defeat in World War II in 1945.

Former Japanese residents of the islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories, and other supporters of the trip waved rising sun flags as Mr. Koizumi boarded the ship. National broadcaster NHK later showed Mr. Koizumi viewing the islands with binoculars.

``They are so close,'' Mr. Koizumi later told reporters. ``I did not think they were this close.''

Tokyo and Moscow have long wrestled diplomatically over the islands, which are sparsely inhabited but located in an area rich in natural resources. The dispute has blocked a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities between them.

Mr. Koizumi said his visit helped prepare him for talks with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, when they meet next year.

`Important issue'

``I realised once more how very important it will be for me to keep in mind, when I negotiate with Putin, that the islands are not just an issue for the former residents or Hokkaido but all of Japan,'' Mr. Koizumi said.

Mr. Koizumi had originally planned to attempt to land on one of the islands, but changed plans after Russia's Foreign Ministry criticised the trip, saying it would complicate efforts to agree on a peace treaty. Mr. Koizumi's spokesman, denied that the trip would harm relations with Moscow, but said Russia has to take Japan's position on the islands seriously.

AP

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