Japan says Kuril Islands 'primordially Japanese, Russia's occupation against int'l order'

In the wake of escalating global tensions caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, on Tuesday, March 8, referred to the Kuril Islands as an integral part of the country and not Russia's. During a debate in the National Diet (Parliament), he termed the region as the original territories of Japan. Affirming that Japan's stance on the long-standing disputed territory remains unchanged, the Minister said the islands are 'primordially Japanese'.

"Northern territories (Kuril Islands) are territories to which the sovereignty of our country extends, they are also our ancestral territories. There are no changes in our position on this matter," the Japanese Minister said.

Condemning Russia over its military offensive in Ukraine, Japan has ramped up its demands over the Kuril Islands. Addressing the Parliamentary Debate, the Japanese Minister stressed that Russia's occupation in the Islands contradicts international order as does the ongoing Russian army attack on Ukraine. 

Kuril Islands dispute between Japan & Russia

While Japan claims the Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai islands in Russia's Kuril Island chain, known in Russia as the Southern Kurils, based on the 1855 bilateral treaty on trade and borders, the Kremlin claims rights and sovereignty over the said islands. It is pertinent to note the Soviet Union and Japan in 1956 signed a declaration wherein Moscow agreed to consider the chances of transferring the Shikotan and Habomai islands to Japan, while the Iturup, Kunashir islands were not mentioned in the enforceable contract. While Japan continued to consider the un-named islands as part of the solution to the issue, it did not even up its claims to all the islands. 

In February 2022 Japan raised strong objections to Russia conducting military drills close to the South Kuril Islands after being informed of the firing drills near the Kunashir Islands. "In this regard, we have protested to Russia through diplomatic channels. The strengthening of Russia's military presence in the Northern Territories is unacceptable and contradicts the government's (Japan's) position," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno had said. 

Previously, in October 2021 Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, during a virtual meeting in the Upper House of Japan's Parliament, had said, "The sovereignty of our country extends to the Northern Territories (Southern Kuril Islands). The government has not changed its stance on the matter. The subject of negotiations on the conclusion of the peace treaty (with Russia) is the ownership of four islands. This is Japan's consistent position."