Abe stresses importance of "special system" in activities with Russia in southern Kuril Islands

TOKYO, January 20. /TASS/. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stressed importance of the "special system" in joint activities with Russia in all the southern Kuril Islands. "Last month, during the visit of (Russia's) President (Vladimir) Putin to Japan, we shared the sincere inclination to settle problems," he told the national parliament on Friday. "We have agreed to begin talks in order to have joint activities on all the four northern islands in the framework of a "special system", and agreed that former residents of those islands would be able to visit freely the native places and the graves." "And in the framework of the new approach we made an important step on the way towards reaching a peace treaty," the prime minister said. The first in recent eleven years visit of the Russian president to Japan, which was on December 15-16, 2016, was devoted to a peace treaty and to the issue of the southern Kuril Islands, as well as the bilateral economic cooperation. The visit and talks yielded a joint statement where the two leaders noted that "the start of consultations on joint economic activity of Russia and Japan on the South Kuril Islands may become an important step towards signing a peace treaty." Besides, the parties consider that the statement and any agreements reached on its basis on establishing joint economic activity and its implementation "cause no damage for the positions of Russia and Japan on the peace treaty issue." Russia and Japan have no peace treaty signed after World War II. The settlement of this problem inherited by Russia’s diplomacy from the Soviet Union is hampered by the years-long dispute over the four islands of Russia’s Southern Kuril Islands - Shikotan, Habomai, Iturup and Kunashir, which Japan calls its northern territories. After World War II, in September 1945, Japan signed its surrender, and in February 1946, the Kuril Islands were declared territories of the Soviet Union. In 1956, the USSR and Japan signed a Joint Declaration thus re-establishing bilateral diplomatic, trade and other kinds of relations after World War II. According to the document, the USSR unilaterally expressed readiness to return the Shikotan and Hamobai islands as a gesture of good will, but only after signing a peace treaty. Read more