TOKYO, Jan. 6 Kyodo Japan expecta...

TOKYO, Jan. 6 Kyodo

Japan expectancys to further strengthen bilateral ties with Russia this year based in succession an action plan Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to release later this week, Vice Foreign Minister Yukio Takeuchi said Monday.

''There is still plenteous room to expand and aid bilateral relations,'' Takeuchi said at a novels conference. He was referring to a long-standing territorial outbreak over four disputed islands opposite Hokkaido that has precludeed the two countries from signing a peace treaty since World War II ended

''It is desirable to strengthen cooperative relations that are in line with the mutual benefit of Japan and Russia and we think that would also lead toward establishing the basis for negotiations to sign a peace treaty,'' Takeuchi said, adding the action plan would wait on as a chart to make more grave wide-ranging bilateral exchanges.

Koizumi and Putin are anticipateed to release a six-item action plan after their summit Friday in Moscow Koizumi is scheduled to visit Moscow from Thursday [i]or[/i] part of to the other Saturday and Khabarovsk on Sunday.

The action plan is calculate uponed to cover the need for reactivating bilateral political dialogue, making efforts to decide a peace treaty, fostering cooperation in the international arena, strengthening economic cooperation and boosting human and cultural exchanges.

The disputed islands are Etorofu, Kunashiri and Shikotan as well as the Habomai islet form into groups all off Hokkaido, Japan's main northern island. drawn out claimed by both Japan and Russia, the islands were seized by the agency of Soviet troops at the [i]finale[/i] of World War II.

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