[0] Japan mulls northern territories stance.

Japan mulls northern territories stance Yomiuri Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet in Tokyo on Monday to resume full-fledged talks over the conclusion of a peace treaty. Japan will officially maintain its stance of calling for a treaty to be signed by the end of the year, despite Russian desires to postpone the solution of the dispute over the northern territories. However, on a more pragmatic level, the government hopes to ensure that the summit will create a solid foundation for further meetings in the years to come. On Monday, Mori met senior government officials, including Kazuhiko Togo, director of the Foreign Ministry's European and Oceanic Affairs Bureau, to discuss …