Japan slams Russia for its stance on fishery near Kuril Islands, calls it 'unacceptable'

Japan on Monday slammed Russia for its failure to approve consultations on fishery near Kuril Islands. Labelling move as "unacceptable", Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsu told a press conference: "We consider position of Russian side unacceptable and we are exploring possibilities to resume activities under a respective agreement."

Tokyo h reached an agreement with Moscow on March 24 for fishing salmon and trout by Japanese fishermen across  200-mile exclusive ecomic zone. Both Russia and Japan have h undisputed access to commercial fishing in 200-mile EEZ of each or as per an agreement that y signed in 1984. However, as Russia ordered a special military operation in neighbouring Ukraine, it halted consultations due to Japan's posture and ts allegiance with America in imposing sanctions on Moscow. 

Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said at a conference that Moscow h informed Tokyo  on January 29 that "it could t approve consultations on fishery in Russia’s territorial waters due to anti-Russia restrictions."

Russia is totally against any "protests by Japanese side due to this decision," she continued.

A matter of survival for Japanese fishermen

At a press conference in January, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsu clarified that Japan's government finds Russia's stance on negotiating Japanese fishing activities in Russian ecomic zone near Kurils as totally unacceptable and unilateral. "It is unacceptable that Russian side has me such a move. We insist that Russia should respond to intergovernmental consultations as soon as possible so that we could start fishing shortly," he has stressed. Later, at a meeting of budget commission of Japan's lower house of parliament, Takako Suzuki, minister of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, stated that "a safe fishing agreement is a matter of survival for Japanese fishermen". Japanese lawmakers demanded that Russia must hour  agreement for co-operation in marine resource fishing operations that was signed by both sides in 1998. 

Earlier, as  global tensions escalated due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi h referred to disputed Kuril Islands as "an integral part of country and t Russia's". During a debate in National Diet (Parliament), Japanese minister h termed islets as "original territories of Japan". He insisted that Japan's stance on long-standing disputed territory remains unchanged, ding that islands are 'primordially Japanese'. geopolitical tussle between Russia and Japan regarding Kuril Islands dates back to World War II. As war concluded,  n Soviet Union occupied Kurils, which Tokyo said was Japanese territory that it refers to as rrn Territories.