FILE - In this April 17, 1991 file photo, Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev, center, accompanied by his wife, Raisa, applauds in responding to a standing ovation from Japanese lawmakers after his speech at the lower house of Parliament in Tokyo as House Speaker Yoshio Sakurauchi, right, and Soviet's Foreign Minister Alexander Bessmertnykh, top left, also applaud. Japan and the former Soviet Union restored diplomatic relations a decade after World War II, but a dispute over a cluster of islands kept them from signing a peace treaty. Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Japan on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016 for a two-day talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the issue. In 1991, Gorbachev signed a communique recognizing the territorial dispute. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, File)