Japan to continue seeking return of all Russian-held islands: Aso

TOKYO, April 17 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Taro Aso reiterated Friday that Japan has sought the return of
all four Russian-controlled islands off Hokkaido and will continue to do so,
after a major Japanese daily carried an interview with a senior government
official who expressed a different view from Aso's.
''The sovereignty of the islands remains unclear,'' Aso told reporters on
Friday evening. ''Once the sovereignty issue is clarified, we're willing to
seek a flexible solution for the rest.'' He was apparently referring to when or
how the islands should be returned.
''I've been saying the same thing, and that's our basic stance,'' he said.
Aso underlined that Japan's position is it will not conclude a peace treaty
with Russia unless the latter confirms that all the four islands belong to
Japan.
His fresh remarks on the islands came after the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper in
its Friday morning edition carried an interview with former Vice Foreign
Minister Shotaro Yachi, in which he has called for the return of ''3.5'' of the
four islands rather than the reversion of all of them.
Yachi, who is now a special government envoy on key diplomatic issues, said he
''personally'' backs the idea of advocating the return of ''3.5 islands'' so as
''not to leave the territorial row as a stumbling block to bilateral ties,''
suggesting the reversion of half of Etorofu Island, the biggest of the four,
and the three other islands is enough in terms of acreage.
However, Yachi denied Friday he made such remarks in the interview, the Foreign
Ministry said after contacting the former vice minister, who is now visiting
the United States, over the phone.
The article published before Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's scheduled
visit to Japan in May immediately caused ripples.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said at a press conference Friday that
the Japanese government ''has never taken the stance described in the interview
article.''
The top government spokesman said Yachi's remarks were based on his personal
views and do not represent the government's standpoint, because a special envoy
does not have final say on diplomatic matters.
Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone also dismissed the view expressed in the
interview at a separate news conference.
Tokyo has been calling for control of all four islands -- Kunashiri, Etorofu,
Shikotan and the Habomai islet group -- known in Japan as the Northern
Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kurils. The territorial row has kept
the two countries from signing a post-World War II peace treaty.
Aso and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed in their summit talks in
February in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the capital of Sakhalin region, to intensify
efforts to resolve the decades-old territorial issue by taking a ''creative and
unconventional approach.'' However, tangible steps toward resolving the dispute
remain to be seen.
On Friday evening, Aso said he will keep close tabs on how Russia reacts to the
territorial issue, recalling that Medvedev told him in their first meeting in
Lima, Peru, last November that he has no intention of leaving the dispute to
future generations to resolve and that it can be settled if leaders have the
determination to do so.
In the interview, Yachi indicated it would be enough for Japan if the country
regains control of Shikotan, Kunashiri and the Habomai islets plus half of
Etorofu, which provides the largest share of the total acreage of the four
islands.
The envoy also said the two countries should tackle the territorial dispute
under a ''big strategic framework'' involving energy, environmental
conservation and development projects in northeastern Siberia under the
''unconventional approach.''
He also suggested designating the four islands as a nonmilitary zone once the
two countries strike a deal on the territorial row.
==Kyodo