The discussions on specific projects under the joint economic activities will mainly cover fields such as tourism and medical sectors, Eiichi Hasegawa, head of the public-private mission and special adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said at a press conference in Nemuro in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido.

"We have again recognized the importance of creating a new legal framework for carrying out the joint economic activities," Hasegawa said after his mission returned from a trip to three of the four Russian-held islands.

In the four-day trip that began on Tuesday, the mission visited a total of 64 places on Kunashiri, Etorofu and Shikoan, including a hot spring spot, a tourist candidate route, a hospital, a fishery industry complex and a diesel electric power station.

The mission held talks with Russian officials, including two rounds of meeting with Sakhalin Region Governor Oleg Kozhemyako, who effectively administers the four islands, seized from Japan by Soviet troops in 1945 in the closing days of World War II.

Hasegawa said the talks were concrete and that he sees potential for progress.

He said, "The nature of the islands is amazing and it has great potential for tourism."

By giving a concrete shape to joint projects one by one, Japan and Russia can deepen mutual trust and pave the way for resolving the territorial dispute and concluding a peace treaty to formally end their wartime hostilities, he stressed.

Hasegawa said that he found rooms for improvement on such infrastructure as ports and airports as well as energy supply and waste disposal systems on the islands.

He will report the results of the trip to Abe, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and others next week.

The Japanese government hopes to hold a vice-ministerial meeting with Russia on the joint economic activities as early as August so that Abe and Russian

President Vladimir Putin can confirm progress when they meet in early September, sources familiar with the situation said.

The 69-member Japanese mission included officials from the foreign and transport ministries, municipalities in Hokkaido and private companies such as trading houses. (Jiji Press)