<p class="title">Russia released 24 Japanese fishermen and their vessels on Tuesday, after detaining them for allegedly exceeding the octopus catch quota off a chain of disputed Pacific islands, Japan's foreign ministry said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The five boats departed a port in Kunashiri island, one of the four southern Kuril islands disputed by Tokyo and Moscow, a foreign ministry official in charge of Russian affairs confirmed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The fishermen are in good health, top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga later told reporters.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Soviet Union seized the strategically located volcanic archipelago north of Japan's Hokkaido in the final days of World War II and has maintained a military presence there ever since.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The five ships were detained last week after a Russian inspection deemed they had exceeded their quota for octopus allowed under a 1998 agreement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Foreign ministers discussed the incident at talks last Thursday, which also tried to find a breakthrough in the long-lagging dispute between Moscow and Tokyo over the islands.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Details about the Russian allegation "will be probed by relevant organisations", the Japanese ministry official added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A Russian court ordered the fishermen to pay an 11 million yen ($100,000) fine, which was paid before leaving for Japan, public broadcaster NHK and other local media reported.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have met more than two dozen times since 2013 over the territorial dispute, which prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty to formally end World War II.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Tokyo maintains its claim over the four southernmost islands of the Kuril chain, known as the Northern Territories in Japan.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Nationalist sentiment on both sides makes both governments wary of considering concessions.</p>
<p class="title">Russia released 24 Japanese fishermen and their vessels on Tuesday, after detaining them for allegedly exceeding the octopus catch quota off a chain of disputed Pacific islands, Japan's foreign ministry said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The five boats departed a port in Kunashiri island, one of the four southern Kuril islands disputed by Tokyo and Moscow, a foreign ministry official in charge of Russian affairs confirmed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The fishermen are in good health, top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga later told reporters.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Soviet Union seized the strategically located volcanic archipelago north of Japan's Hokkaido in the final days of World War II and has maintained a military presence there ever since.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The five ships were detained last week after a Russian inspection deemed they had exceeded their quota for octopus allowed under a 1998 agreement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Foreign ministers discussed the incident at talks last Thursday, which also tried to find a breakthrough in the long-lagging dispute between Moscow and Tokyo over the islands.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Details about the Russian allegation "will be probed by relevant organisations", the Japanese ministry official added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A Russian court ordered the fishermen to pay an 11 million yen ($100,000) fine, which was paid before leaving for Japan, public broadcaster NHK and other local media reported.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have met more than two dozen times since 2013 over the territorial dispute, which prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty to formally end World War II.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Tokyo maintains its claim over the four southernmost islands of the Kuril chain, known as the Northern Territories in Japan.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Nationalist sentiment on both sides makes both governments wary of considering concessions.</p>