The government Thursday played down the importance of Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev's brusque refusal to discuss Japan's claim to the disputed Kuril Islands. The issue has prevented the two countries from agreeing on a peace treaty to end World War II officially. It is a main cause for chilly relations even while other countries have made great strides in improving ties with Moscow. Gorbachev's latest statement was the banner story in every national Japanese newspaper because it appeared to reverse Moscow's grudging willingness to discuss the 45-year-old argument. It could also indicate negative fallout from what Japan had touted as a diplomatic victory at the Houston summit of the seven major industrial democracies this month. Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu was able to persuade other countries to mention the Kurils dispute in a summit communique. Kaifu also rejected Japanese participation in a Western European drive to give financial aid to Moscow, saying the territorial dispute stood in the way. The Soviet leader met in Moscow on Wednesday with a delegation led by Yoshio Sakurauchi, speaker of the powerful lower house of Parliament. Gorbachev turned aside the politician's effort to raise Tokyo's claim to be the rightful owner of Soviet-held islands off the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. Gorbachev, quoted by the official Tass news agency, said the issue had been decided after World War II and the Soviet Union abides by postwar arrangements. ``I do not want to launch a discussion today on the issue that was repeatedly discussed with representatives of Japan,'' Tass quoted Gorbachev as saying. ``I can repeat today: We do not have a territorial issue.'' The Kyodo News Service said Gorbachev went on to hint he may cancel a trip to Tokyo tentatively set for early 1991 if Japan insists only on talking about the territorial dispute. Japan is banking on Gorbachev's trip to Tokyo as a chance to make progress on the issue. Both the Foreign Ministry and chief government spokesman Misoji Sakamoto said Thursday they believe the trip will take place as planned. ``As far as the government is concerned, there is no need to be overly affected by'' Gorbachev's comment, Sakamoto said at a news conference. A Foreign Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it appeared Gorbachev was simply stating the official Soviet position. The official said Japan has an ``earnest intention'' to improve relations with the Soviet Union but stressed the most important problem is the territorial issue. Soviet troops captured the islands in the last days of World War II and claims them as historically Russian territory. Japan demands their return on grounds that they had been ceded to Japan in 19th-century agreements. The Kurils make up a string of three islands and a cluster of islets lying in waters rich with salmon and other marine resources. The islands also have strategic value as a barrier to access between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk.
