Japan vows to pursue island dispute settlement with Russia despite strained ties
By The South Asia Times
TOKYO - Japan has vowed to continue seeking a resolution to its decades-old territorial dispute with Russia over four islands off Hokkaido, despite worsening bilateral relations, as the countries mark 70 years since a joint declaration that provided for the possible return of two of the islands.
“Even amid the difficult state of Japan-Russia relations, we will continue the necessary communication with the Russian side and work toward breaking the current deadlock,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a regular news conference in Tokyo on Monday, according to Kyodo News.
The 1956 joint declaration, which restored diplomatic relations between Japan and the then-Soviet Union, stipulated that two disputed islands — Shikotan and the Habomai islet group — would be handed over to Japan after the signing of a peace treaty.
The islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kurils, also include Kunashiri and Etorofu. The dispute has prevented the two countries from formally concluding a peace treaty following World War II.
Tokyo maintains that the Soviet Union illegally seized the islands after Japan surrendered in August 1945. Moscow considers its control of the territory legitimate.
Japan and Russia agreed in 2018 to advance negotiations based on the 1956 declaration. However, talks were suspended in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Japan’s participation in Western-led sanctions against Moscow.
Relations have deteriorated further in recent years. Japan also protested after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited one of the disputed islands in August, according to the report.
Despite the diplomatic impasse, Tokyo’s latest statement signals that Japan intends to keep the territorial issue on its agenda, although prospects for renewed negotiations remain uncertain.
