Putin to visit Japan for talks territorial dispute

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit Japan for talks on a decades-long territorial dispute, which has prevented the two sides from promoting their ties since the conclusion of World War II.

Putin is scheduled to fly to Japan on Thursday to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the city of Nagato, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, in the hope of breaking the ice on an agreement, which has been in the works with the aim of ending the row on Kuril Islands.

The visit is the latest attempt to resolve the territorial dispute since 1956, when bilateral negotiations began over the issue.

Putin’s two-day trip comes after two visits by Abe to Russia earlier this year.

Commenting on Putin’s upcoming trip, Abe said Monday, “I would like to hold high-level talks meant to put an end to the territorial dispute.”

However, the Russian side seems to be less optimistic, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying earlier this month that “it’s not simple to bring the two sides’ positions closer.”

Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the Russian Federation Council, also said in November, “As for the Kuril Islands – their [territorial status] ... may be disputable for Japan, but not for Russia.”

“They became our territory after World War II and it was registered in international documents. Therefore, Russia’s sovereignty over them is unquestionable,” he added.

The Kuril chain, which consists of a series of 56 mostly uninhabited islands, separate the Sea of Okhotsk, to the west, and the North Pacific Ocean, to the east. They are located between Hokkaido, Japan’s second largest island and its northernmost prefecture, to the south, and Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, to the north.

The entire Kuril Pacific archipelago was part of Japan’s territory until the final year of World War II, when Soviet troops took possession of all islands.

Japan claims sovereignty over four islands in the Kuril chain. Moscow, however, cites the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951, which abolished Japan’s sovereignty over the archipelago, describing Tokyo’s claims as unfounded.

The contested islands, known in Japan as the country’s Northern Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kurils, have strained Moscow-Tokyo ties for decades, preventing the two neighbors from signing a peace treaty to formally end the wartime hostilities.

The row has hindered bilateral investment and trade cooperation between the two sides.

Russia has military bases on the Kuril Pacific archipelago. Moscow has angered Tokyo in recent months by starting the construction of new modern compounds for its troops stationed on the islands.

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