WORLD : Soviets Make Overture to Japan

TOKYO — Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s top aide, Alexander Yakovlev, told Japanese leaders today that bilateral ties, frozen since World War II, should thaw in line with dynamic changes elsewhere in the world.

Yakovlev, often regarded as Gorbachev’s right-hand man in foreign policy, made the statements in meetings with Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu and Foreign Minister Taro Nakayama, a Foreign Ministry official said.

“We are for a peace treaty with Japan. Soviet-Japanese relations must reach the level of changes taking part in the rest of the world,” Yakovlev was quoted as telling Nakayama.

“The international political scene is moving very fast, and Soviet-Japanese ties must go along with this for stability in the region,” Kaifu told Yakovlev in their meeting.