... were many speculations in the media that Moscow intends to follow Article 9 of the Declaration: to sign a peace treaty with Japan and to hand over Shikotan and Habomai islets. Nelidov urged to be skeptical about this kind of assumptions: Russia and Japan continue to adhere to divergent positions on the fate of the Kuril Islands, and the situation is unlikely to change in the near future.
The expert also noted that when analyzing Russian-Japanese territorial dispute, it is important to take into account the domestic political factor. According to the lecturer, Abe’s ...
... on the islands in exchange for investment and a new level of relations. Tokyo, too, will find it difficult to do much to change the situation, even if it has the political will to do so. The exterritorial nature of the US sanctions will impede Russia-Japan cooperation regardless of what the dialogue on the Kuril Islands results in. It appears that the Russian diplomats are well aware of this prospect.
However, throughout history Japan has demonstrated a high level of adaptation to US sanctions, if they interfered with its interests. For example, Japan was ...
... economic activities on the four Kuril Islands in five priority areas and agreed that a third delegation of Japanese businesspersons and officials would visit the islands this year. In addition, as in 2017, there will be a special chartered flight for Japanese citizens wishing to visit the graves of their ancestors on the Kuril Islands. Nonetheless, there was no progress on the most complicated issue of the legal framework for joint economic activities. Consequently, the issue of coordinating Japan’s position [
2
] with Russia’s position [
3
] remains open. Most likely,...
... these relations will definitely see the inherent asymmetry of the parties’ positions and interests. On the one hand, the focus of the political game for the Japanese political establishment is, and has always been, the territorial delineation of the Kuril Islands, which from the Japanese perspective is an issue of the Northern Territories lost to the Soviet Union in 1945 as a result of the Second World War. Even though it has not been stated officially (as was the case with the famous
eight-point plan of cooperation with Russia
...
How can joint economic activity on the Kuril Islands help resolve disputes between Japan and Russia and address the peace treaty issue?
With Russia-Japan relations being all over the news and Shinzo Abe visiting Moscow, future economic cooperation and economic activity on the Kuril Islands is on top of the agenda for both countries....
... when asked whether the economic activity will be conducted according to Russian legislation, Aide to President Ushakov
responded
: “Of course, it is the territory of the Russian Federation.”
Without any doubt, not only Russia will benefit from Japanese capital being pushed actively to Kuril Islands and Sakhalin Oblast. According to Russia’s regional authorities, Japanese investors will receive all possible discounts
available
for those investing in Russia’s Far East. The more promising areas for cooperation include fishery, creating ...
... and Head of the Department of Oriental Studies at MGIMO-University
Dmitry Streltsov
discusses whether the two sides will be able to resolve the issue of disputed territories.
What can you tell us about Dmitry Medvedev’s upcoming visit to the Kuril Islands and the reaction of the Japanese authorities to this news?
I don’t think there is anything to discuss here, as it is the duty of the Government of the Russian Federation to safeguard the economic development of the Kuril Islands – a territory that has been, and still ...
... Shimoda (1855), the first fundamental treaty between the two countries; the 110th anniversary of the Treaty of Portsmouth that put an end to the Russian-Japanese war; and, of course, the end of World War II, the results of which triggered the Southern Kuril Islands Dispute. 2016 is the year of the 60th anniversary of the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, which laid the foundations of reconciliation between the two countries, and this anniversary could be celebrated if not though a breakthrough, but at the very least with some progress. A small window of opportunity ...
In late May 2015, President Vladimir Putin of Russia was reported to have received an invitation to visit Japan in June 2015 to discuss the ongoing Kuril Islands dispute. The historical dispute over the South Kuril Islands has been simmering for more than 50 years, since the end of WWII. Will 2015 see a breakthrough in the Russia–Japan relationship from the perspective of territorial ownership ...
... Russia.
The 24th Olympic Games opened in Sochi last Friday, and were also the reason given by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for his visit to Russia. On the other hand, that same day, 7 February, is known in Japan as Northern Territories Day, referring to Japan’s dispute with Russia over the South Kuril Islands. How would you comment on this rather unusual step by Prime Minister Abe? What reaction might it cause in Japan or in Russia? What are the prospects for Russo-Japanese relations?
I would like to note, first of all, that the meeting between ...
