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Kuril islands dispute between Russia and Japan

Kuril islands dispute between Russia and Japan

 

cheap abercrombie clothes As Dmitry Medvedev pays the first visit by a Russian president to the disputed Kuril islands, the BBC looks at the background to the long-standing territorial dispute between Russia and Japan.The island chain known as the Kurils stretches north across the Pacific Ocean from the Japanese island of Hokkaido to the southern tip of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. Four islands - which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories - are the subject of a 60-year-old dispute between the two nations. They are Kunashir (known in Japanese as Kunashiri ), Iturup (Etorofu), Shikotan and the rocky Habomai islets. The southernmost islet in the Habomai group lies only a few kilometres off Nemuro on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Because of the dispute, Russia and Japan have not yet signed a peace treaty to end World War II. Deported Japanese people migrated north to the islands in the 18th and 19th century, including members of Hokkaido's minority Ainu community. In 1855, Russia and Japan signed the Treaty of Shimoda, which gave Japan ownership of the four southern islands and Russia ownership of everything to the north. Communities developed on three of the islands and by the time World War II began, there were 17,000 Japanese residents. Russia took control of the islands at the end of the war, and by 1949 it had deported all residents to Japan. Under the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, signed between the Allies and Japan, Japan renounced "all right, title and claim to the Kuril Islands", as well as over other possessions.But this resolved nothing, because Russia did not sign the treaty and the Japanese government has never recognised the four islands as part of the Kuril chain. In 1956, the Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration restored diplomatic ties between the two nations, but a formal peace deal remained out of reach because of the territorial dispute. At the time, Russia proposed returning the two islands closest to Japan, a deal Japan rejected, in part because the two islands represent only 7% of the land in question.

abercrombie saleSince then, the dispute has remained unresolved. Natural resources A 30,000-strong Russian community now lives on the islands and there is also a Russian military presence on Iturup. In early August 2006, the Russian government backed a 17bn-rouble ($630m) plan to develop the entire Kuril island chain, including improving energy and transport infrastructure.Chances of an early resolution to the dispute look slim. Vladimir Putin, when he was president, indicated that the offer of a return of the two southernmost islands was still on the table, but showed no signs of relinquishing the two larger islands. Natural resources are part of the reason.The islands are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and are thought to have offshore reserves of oil and gas. Rare rhenium deposits have been found on the Kudriavy volcano on Iturup. Tourism is also a potential source of income, as the islands have several volcanoes and a variety of birdlife. Meanwhile, the Japanese government has worked to maintain public awareness of the dispute. Periodic visits by relatives of those displaced after the war to pray before their ancestral shrines have made the issue a highly emotive one for the Japanese public.Dmitry Medvedev has paid the first visit by a Russian president to the disputed Kuril Islands, sparking a diplomatic row with Japan. Mr Medvedev met local residents in Kunashir, the second-largest of the four islands, and pledged more investment for the region. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan called Mr Medvedev's visit regrettable, and Russia's envoy was summoned.Russia called Japan's reaction to the visit "unacceptable". Russia took control of the islands at the end of World War II.The islands lie to the north of Japan's Hokkaido island and to the south of Russia's Kamchatka peninsula.

 abercrombie outlet onlineThey are known in Russia as the Southern Kurils, while Japan calls them the Northern Territories.Before Russia took control of them, some 17,000 Japanese residents lived in the Kurils. 'Hurt feelings' Mr Medvedev is the first Russian leader to set foot on the islands. In Kunashir, known in Japan as Kunashiri, he visited a kindergarten, a power station and a fishery, and promised greater investment in the region. "We have an interest in people remaining here. It is important that there be development here, we will invest money here without fail," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying. In Tokyo, Mr Kan reiterated Japan's stance on the islands."Those four northern islands are part of our country's territory, so the president's visit is very regrettable," he said.Separately, Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara warned that the visit would "hurt the feelings of the Japanese people".But Russia's top diplomat, Sergei Lavrov, condemned Japan's reaction as "unacceptable". "It is our land and the Russian president visited Russian land," the foreign minister said. Japan's ambassador would be summoned to hear Russia's position, he added. The dispute has strained relations between Tokyo and Moscow ever since World War II, preventing the signing of a formal peace treaty.The islands have rich fishing grounds, mineral deposits and possibly oil and gas reserves. Mr Medvedev's visit comes shortly before his planned trip to Japan for an Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) meeting in mid-November.It also comes with Japan locked in a separate territorial dispute with another of its powerful neighbours. Ties between China and Japan have been strained by a row over islands in the East China Sea - known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China - that both claim. As Dmitry Medvedev pays the first visit by a Russian president to the disputed Kuril islands, the BBC looks at the background to the long-standing territorial dispute between Russia and Japan.

 abercrombie outletThe island chain known as the Kurils stretches north across the Pacific Ocean from the Japanese island of Hokkaido to the southern tip of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. Four islands - which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories - are the subject of a 60-year-old dispute between the two nations. They are Kunashir (known in Japanese as Kunashiri ), Iturup (Etorofu), Shikotan and the rocky Habomai islets. The southernmost islet in the Habomai group lies only a few kilometres off Nemuro on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Because of the dispute, Russia and Japan have not yet signed a peace treaty to end World War II. Deported Japanese people migrated north to the islands in the 18th and 19th century, including members of Hokkaido's minority Ainu community. In 1855, Russia and Japan signed the Treaty of Shimoda, which gave Japan ownership of the four southern islands and Russia ownership of everything to the north. Communities developed on three of the islands and by the time World War II began, there were 17,000 Japanese residents. Russia took control of the islands at the end of the war, and by 1949 it had deported all residents to Japan. Under the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, signed between the Allies and Japan, Japan renounced "all right, title and claim to the Kuril Islands", as well as over other possessions.But this resolved nothing, because Russia did not sign the treaty and the Japanese government has never recognised the four islands as part of the Kuril chain. In 1956, the Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration restored diplomatic ties between the two nations, but a formal peace deal remained out of reach because of the territorial dispute. At the time, Russia proposed returning the two islands closest to Japan, a deal Japan rejected, in part because the two islands represent only 7% of the land in question. Since then, the dispute has remained unresolved.

abercrombie fitchNatural resources A 30,000-strong Russian community now lives on the islands and there is also a Russian military presence on Iturup. In early August 2006, the Russian government backed a 17bn-rouble ($630m) plan to develop the entire Kuril island chain, including improving energy and transport infrastructure.Chances of an early resolution to the dispute look slim. Vladimir Putin, when he was president, indicated that the offer of a return of the two southernmost islands was still on the table, but showed no signs of relinquishing the two larger islands. Natural resources are part of the reason.The islands are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and are thought to have offshore reserves of oil and gas. Rare rhenium deposits have been found on the Kudriavy volcano on Iturup. Tourism is also a potential source of income, as the islands have several volcanoes and a variety of birdlife. Meanwhile, the Japanese government has worked to maintain public awareness of the dispute. Periodic visits by relatives of those displaced after the war to pray before their ancestral shrines have made the issue a highly emotive one for the Japanese public. Russia has reacted angrily to a renewed pledge by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, to press for the return of the disputed Russian-held Kuril islands. The four islands, which lie off Japan's northern Hokkaido island, were seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II.

abercrombie ukHe said Russia could block any negotiations on the islands - which Japan refers to as the Northern Territories - by ratifying a post-war treaty ceding them to the then Soviet Union. "It's hard for me to understand the Japanese mentality but surely they must remember they lost the war and signed an unconditional surrender," said Mr Rogozin. "They put themselves politically and territorially at the winner's mercy." Koizumi's pledge On Thursday Japan's Mr Koizumi said Japan would continue to ask for the return of the islands. "There is no change in our policy that Russia should make it clear that the four islands belong to Japan," said he said at an annual rally. "We should not become impatient. We must negotiate with Russia with tenacity. We should not give up our hope," he told the 1,600-strong crowd. The rally is held on the anniversary of the signing of an 1855 friendship treaty under which Moscow recognised Tokyo's sovereignty over the islands. Recently-appointed Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi held talks on the issue last week in Tokyo with her Russian counterparty Igor Ivanov - the first full talks at that level since Mr Koizumi took office last year. They agreed to hold a bilateral vice foreign ministerial meeting in Moscow in March. It could pave the way for an official visit to Moscow by Mr Koizumi this year. Tokyo and Moscow set up diplomatic relations in 1956, but have yet to sign a formal peace treaty to end the war. Deep divisions Now that it has so clearly come badly unstuck, and so much more blood has been spilled, a much more serious and concerted push is clearly needed.And with the world and regional powers deeply divided, including some bitter diplomatic sniping between Moscow and Washington, that is hard to imagine.

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