Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will meet with Russia's outgoing and incoming presidents on Saturday in hopes of gaining Moscow's support for a new global initiative to reduce greenhouse gases. The meeting will also briefly touch on the territorial dispute over four islands in the Pacific, a long-standing issue in their relations since World War Two. Japan, as the host of this year's Group of Eight summit on Hokkaido island, is prioritizing the search for a more effective successor to the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which ends in 2012. Fukuda's main goals for the visit are to build a trusting relationship with President Putin and president-elect Medvedev, and to prepare for the upcoming G8 summit. Tokyo is optimistic that the G8 summit will facilitate the creation of a climate change agreement that will include major polluters like the United States, China, and India, none of whom are currently bound by the emissions limits of the Kyoto Protocol. Despite this, Russia, a member of the G8, has committed to the Kyoto Protocol's goals, giving Japanese officials hope that Moscow will also back a new agreement in Hokkaido. The disputed islands, referred to as the Southern Kuriles in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, are located near the G8 summit location in Hokkaido. Personal relations between Russia and Japan have been strained since Soviet troops seized the disputed islands in the final days of World War Two. This longstanding issue has hindered both countries from signing a treaty to officially end hostilities. Prime Minister Fukuda plans to encourage Russian leaders to expedite negotiations to resolve the territorial dispute. According to a senior Japanese government official, Fukuda will stress the importance of advancing talks in a concrete manner to improve bilateral relations. While Russia has expressed willingness to discuss the issue, they have not shown any indication of relinquishing control of the islands. A Kremlin official stated that their position remains unchanged and they are not anticipating any significant progress in the discussions with Fukuda. Trade between Russia and Japan reached $20 billion in 2007, driven by companies like Toyota Motor Corp, which established a factory in Russia to take advantage of the growing market. However, trade between Russia and Japan is much smaller compared to the trade between Russia and its largest trading partner, the European Union. Japan believes it is a suitable partner to assist Russia in achieving its goal of developing its Far East region, which is abundant in energy resources and largely uninhabited. Japanese companies have invested in large oil and gas ventures on Sakhalin Island in Russia's Pacific region, and there is currently a pipeline being built to transport oil from eastern Siberia to the Pacific coast.