.Japan PM to settle S Kurils dispute, develop relations with RF.

29/1 Tass 93

TOKYO, January 29 (Itar-Tass) - Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama
intends to hold talks with Russia on the Southern Kurils and
simultaneously strengthen cooperation with it as a partner in the
Asia-Pacific region. The head of state made this statement in his
programme speech at a plenary meeting of the lower house of parliament on
Friday.

"With Russia I will conduct affairs towards the settlement of the
northern territories problem and at the same time will strengthen with it
cooperation as a partner in the Asia-Pacific region," the prime minister
said. Tokyo calls its "northern territories" the southern part of the
Kuril Islands claiming it from Moscow.
The Japanese prime minister's statement on the whole corresponds to
the words on relations with Russia that he used last October in his first
programme address in parliament after taking office as the government
head. Then Hatoyama also called Russia a partner in the Asia-Pacific
region simultaneously promising to work hard on the settlement of the
Southern Kurils issue and signing on this basis of a bilateral peace
treaty.
Relations between the two nations are hindered primarily by the Kuril
Islands dispute. On February 10, 1904, a conflict between Imperial Japan
and the Russian Empire resulted in the Russo-Japanese war over Manchuria
and Korea. This, and several smaller conflicts, prevented both countries
from signing a peace treaty after World War II. As of 2009 matters remain
unresolved.
The government of Boris Yeltsin took power in Russia in late 1991 upon
the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Once again, Moscow took a stand in
firm opposition to returning the disputed territories to Japan. Although
Japan joined with the Group of Seven industrialized nations in providing
some technical and financial assistance to Russia, relations between Tokyo
and Moscow remained poor. In September 1992, Russian president Boris
Yeltsin postponed a scheduled visit to Japan. The visit took place in
October 11, 1993. He made no further concessions on the Kuril Islands
dispute over the four Kuril Islands (northeast of Hokkaido), a major
obstacle to Japanese-Russian relations, but did agree to abide by the 1956
Soviet pledge to return two areas (Shikotan and the Habomai Islands) to
Japan. Yeltsin also apologized repeatedly for Soviet mistreatment of
Japanese prisoners of war after World War II. In March 1994, then Japanese
minister of foreign affairs Hata Tsutomu visited Moscow and met with
Russian minister of foreign affairs Andrei Kozyrev and other senior
officials. The two sides agreed to seek a resolution over the longstanding
Kuril Islands dispute, but the resolution of the dispute is not expected
in the near future. Despite the territorial dispute, Hata offered some
financial support to Russian market-oriented economic reforms.
On 28 September 2006, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said
Russia would "continue the dialogue with the new Japanese government. We
will build our relations, how the peoples of the two countries want them
to be. Foreign Minister Taro Aso remained on his post in the government.
We have good, long-standing relations, we will act under the elaborated
programme."
The dispute over the Southern Kuril Islands deteriorated Russo-Japan
relations when the Japanese government published a new guideline for
school textbooks on July 16, 2008 to teach Japanese children that their
country has sovereignty over the Kuril Islands. The Russian public was
outraged by the action and demanded the government to counteract. The
Foreign Minister of Russia announced on July 18, 2008 "[these actions]
contribute neither to the development of positive cooperation between the
two countries, nor to the settlement of the dispute" and reaffirmed its
sovereignty over the islands. Nevertheless, the relations between the two
countries remain in good shape.
Russia maintains that all the Kuril Islands, including those that
Japan calls the Northern Territories, are legally a part of Russia as a
result of World War II, and that this acquisition was as proper as any
other change of international boundaries following the war. Moscow cites
the following basic points:
The explicit language of the Yalta Treaty gave the Soviet Union a
right to the Kurils, and the Soviet Union upheld its own obligations under
that treaty.
The nation of Russia inherited possession of the islands from the
former Soviet Union, in accordance with international law.
The Japanese assertion that the disputed islands are not part of the
Kurils is simply a tactic to bolster Tokyo's territorial claim and is not
supported by history or geography.
Russia has said it is open to a negotiated "solution" to the island
dispute while declaring that the legality of its own claim to the islands
is not open to question. In other words, Japan would first have to
recognize Russia's right to the islands and then try to acquire some or
all of them through negotiations.
Russia has given several concessions to Japan in the dispute. For
example, Russia has introduced visa-free trips for Japanese citizens to
the Kuril Islands. Japan's fishermen are also allowed to catch sea
bioresources in Russia's exclusive economic zone.
-0-ezh


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