Japan and Russia fail to end Second World War
Japan and Russia have failed to meet their latest deadline to officially end the Second World War.
Their dispute over four of the South Kuril Islands - known in Japan as the Northern Territories - was due to be completed by the end of 2000. But they've still failed to reach an agreement.
Officials in Tokyo say the two countries should redraw their boundaries, returning the islands to Japan.
Russian diplomats say they should just sign a peace treaty, leaving discussion on the islands' future to a later date.
President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori met four times last year without breaking the deadlock that began at the end of the war in 1945.
Reports say that the two leaders are unlikely to meet until mid-February at the earliest.
