LIMA, November 21 (RIA Novosti) - Japan expressed hope on Friday that Moscow and Tokyo would be able to bring bilateral relations to a new level at the first meeting between the two countries' leaders, despite the long-standing territorial dispute.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso will meet on the sidelines of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Peruvian capital Lima which starts on Saturday.

"The prime minister is expecting to review the current status of Japanese-Russian relations during a meeting with Medvedev and assure the Russian president that Japan sees Russia as an important neighbor in the Asian-Pacific region," said Kazuo Kodama, spokesman for the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

"Japan is hoping that the two leaders will manage to take bilateral relations to a new level," he said.