Japan's PM sees disputed isles By Colin Joyce in Tokyo (Filed: 03/09/2004) Japan's prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, defied Russian objections yesterday to sail within viewing distance of the disputed Kuril islands, seized by the Red Army at the end of the Second World War. Japan has never renounced its claim to the tiny islands, which it calls the Northern Territories. The dispute over ownership has prevented Tokyo and Moscow from signing a post-war peace treaty. Mr Koizumi viewed the four islands through binoculars from a coastguard vessel in Japanese territorial waters. The visit was opposed by Russia which said: "Such...
