In the comprehensive “Diplomatic Bluebook 2022” report published by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the attitude towards the Kuril issue was hardened. In the annual report submitted to the Kishida Fumio cabinet, it was the first time since 2003 that the Kuril Islands were “under illegal occupation by Russia”.
In the report, which has shown the islands as “the natural region of Japan” for the first time since 2011, the report said, “The Northern Territories are the islands under the sovereignty of Japan and are a natural part of the territory of Japan, but are currently under illegal occupation by Russia.”
The Kyodo agency reported that the changes in expression were perceived as “Japan’s re-hardening of its conciliatory stance towards Russia.”
“CHINA’S MILITARY ACTIVITIES ARE A RESOURCE OF CONCERNS”
China’s increased military activities in the region were cited in the report as “a strong source of concern for the international community, including Japan.”
The report also described China’s “activities to change the status quo by force” in the East China Sea as “totally unacceptable”.
The report, which called for efforts to “build a constructive and stable relationship” between the two neighboring countries, reacted to the missile tests that North Korea has increasingly continued since the beginning of the year.
WHAT IS THE KURIL PROBLEM?
At the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Union annexed Japan’s Kuril Islands in 1945, which stretches for about 1,300 kilometers separating the Pacific Ocean from the Sea of Okhotsk. The Soviet Union also expelled all Japanese citizens living on the islands it occupied in 1949.
After the annexation, the parties could not reach a conclusion in the negotiations for the signing of a peace treaty between Russia and Japan due to the disagreement on the piece of land called the “Northern Regions” by Japan.
Negotiations for the signing of the peace agreement, which were first held at the beginning of 2014, began to be held. The region in question consists of the islands of Iturup, Kunasiri, Shikotan and Habomai in the Pacific Ocean.
(AA)