Arab News Japan

TOKYO: On Feb. 7, the “Northern Territories Day,” the Japanese government and related organizations held the “National Convention Demanding the Return of the Northern Territories” in Tokyo. 

Noting past agreements with Russia, Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio said, “I had a telephone conversation with President Putin shortly after my inauguration last October and said I would work hard not to pass this issue to the next generation. Under the policy of resolving the territorial issue and concluding a peace treaty, we will succeed in our discussions between the leaders after 2018, including the summit in Singapore and continue negotiations persistently.”

Kenji Nakazono, chairman of the convention’s executive committee, said, “It has been 76 years since the Northern Territories were illegally occupied. ‘The Northern Territories Day’ was set in 1976, and this year is the 41st time for this convention to be held. We cannot help feeling strong irritations why the problem has not been resolved. Only governmental negotiations can solve it.”

It has been 30 years since visa-free exchanges began between Japan and Russia, which is the only way for former islanders to land on the four northern islands is to travel the free-visa system or visit graves. However, this agreement has been suspended since last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are about 5,500 Japanese residents of those islands living in Japan. Their average age is 87 years.

The Northern Territories, consisting of four islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai, are an inherent part of the territory of Japan, which foreign countries have never held, according to the foreign ministry in Tokyo. “The Northern Territories have been under illegal occupation by the Soviet Union and Russia since the former Soviet Union occupied them in 1945,” it says.