Prime Minister of Japan announced an unchanged position on the southern part of the Kuril Islands

The leadership of Japan has not changed its position on the issue of ownership of the islands that make up the southern part of the Kuriles, and will not change it in the future. This was stated by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his speech in Parliament, transmits local newspaper Asahi Sibun.

“Japanese-Russian relations are in a difficult position, but the government is firmly committed to resolving the territorial issue and concluding a peace treaty,” he said, stressing that the country’s leadership does not intend to change its policy regarding the four islands of the southern Kuriles.

This is not the first time the Japanese Prime Minister has announced his intention to conclude a peace treaty. Last time Kishida said about it the day before, February 7th. “It is extremely regrettable that 77 years after the end of the war, the issue of the northern territories remains unresolved, and a peace treaty has not yet been concluded between Japan and Russia … The Japanese government is determined to resolve the territorial issue and conclude a peace treaty,” he said. With a similar statement, he spoke and in January, then press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov emphasizedthat there is currently no meaningful dialogue in relations between Russia and Japan, so it is “hardly necessary” to talk about the possibility of concluding a peace treaty.

On March 21, 2022, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it was ending negotiations with the Japanese authorities on concluding a peace treaty due to unilateral sanctions that Tokyo had imposed in connection with a special operation in Ukraine. In addition, Moscow canceled visa-free travel for the Japanese to the Kuril Islands and imposed a number of other restrictions on Tokyo.

Russia and Japan did not conclude a peace treaty following World War II because of the protracted dispute over the South Kuriles. The state of war between the two countries was officially ended in 1956, after which the USSR and Japan resumed diplomatic relations in accordance with the Moscow Declaration. According to the Japanese position, Russia must hand over to Japan the four southern islands of the Kuril chain. Moscow, on the other hand, recognizes the USSR declaration of 1956, which refers to the possibility of transferring the two islands after the conclusion of a peace treaty.