PREPARATIONS UNDER WAY FOR RUSSIAN-JAPANESE SUMMIT








MOSCOW, MARCH 3. 2001. /RIA Novosti correspondent/ -- Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov is leaving for Tokyo  Saturday. 


	On March 5 he will take part in consultations held in  connection with preparations for the Russian-Japanese summit scheduled for March 25 in Irkutsk. 


	The high-ranking Russian diplomat will visit Japan on the eve of important inner political events in that country - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori can announce his resignation at the congress of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Mori's positions have been seriously shattered of late as a result of a series of  scandals in which prominent members of his party are involved. 


	Losyukov told RIA Novosti that the Russian side was ready to meet with Japan's new Prime Minister if there were changes in the Japanese political scene shortly.