Koizumi cancels meetings due to flu

TOKYO, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi canceled all public engagements Monday, taking his first sick leave since assuming office, due to a bout of flu.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told reporters at a regular press briefing that while Koizumi's condition was not serious, he needed to rest.

The prime minister was scheduled Monday to address a conference in Tokyo about the possible return of the four southernmost Kuril Islands, which lie between Japan and Russia. The four islands became Russian territory at the end of World War II, although Japan still claims them.

A dispute over the territories has prevented Japan from signing a formal peace treaty with Russia since then.