Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in Japan on Thursday for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe aimed at improving ties, but both sides have scaled back expectations of major progress towards a peace treaty formally ending World War Two.
Blocking the treaty is a territorial row involving four islands off Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido that were seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War Two.
Following are some key facts about the islands.
History
The islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kuriles in Russia, are called Kunashiri, Etorofu, Shikotan and the Habomai group of islets in Japanese. They are known in Russian as Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan and Habomai.
The islands were home to about 17,000 Japanese people, who fished, bred horses and mined gold, among other occupations, before they were seized by the Soviet Union after it declared war on Japan in the closing days of World War Two. The inhabitants were forced to flee.
The current population is 12,346, according to the Russian government.
Geography, Resources
The disputed islands form the southern end of the Kurile Island chain that stretches for 1,250 km (780 miles) from the southern tip of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula to Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido, dividing the Sea of Okhotsk to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east.
Their total land area is almost 5,000 square km (2,000 square miles), according to Japan’s Foreign Ministry – a little smaller than the U.S. state of Delaware and less than half the size of Lebanon. On clear days, Kunashiri is visible from Hokkaido.
Most inhabitants depend on fishing for their livelihoods and Japan would gain rich fishing grounds if it regained full control of the islands, partly through extending its exclusive economic zone.
The islands are close to oil- and gas-producing regions of Russia, and may themselves harbor rich mineral deposits, a tempting possibility for resource-poor Japan. But upgrading the island infrastructure to match that of the rest of Japan would be expensive.
Russian Military
In 2011, as many as 3,500 Russian troops belonging to the 18th Machine Gun-Artillery Division were deployed on the islands, said a top official in the Russian General Staff, quoted by Russian news agency Interfax.
The unit is reinforced with self-propelled artillery, anti-aircraft systems, rocket artillery and seven dozen tanks, the Russian Defense Ministry broadcaster Zvezda said.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said in March Russia would study the possibility of building a naval base in the islands, prompting protests from Japan.
In November, Russian media reported that Bastion and Bal anti-ship missile systems were in operation on the islands. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called that development “regrettable”.
誠介太田 Very true but the islands need massive infrastructure if returned to Japan. What are the Russian people supposed to do that have made lives these? Family, business etc// And I am a man not Ms.
How Wong you are!
Japan needs to give back all abducted children
Mary Smiley-Tucker God damn, is this some kind of Yank party or something? Go home and take your military with you. Nobody likes you or wants you in Asia.
when a country became powerful and have military might, it will tend to colonize other countries, even it has democratic system or dictatorial or facist system. When Japan build a strong army it invade its neighbours, when Russia became stronger it invades east europ, when China became super in Asia, it invade Tibet and inner mongolia, it also claim all the islands in China sea belong to them,. I think Russia needs to return the Island to Japan or no one own zone only for its residents.
Robert Martens THANK YOU!!!
I live and work in the Okinawa prefect of Japan. There are seriously uninformed comments on this page. We need to have troops in Japan. It is part of the consequences of WWII, but it also gives us a strategic advantage if conflicts arise anywhere in the Pacific. Such as North Korea, to name one.
Gary Burkhalter Me too. What a douche.
Scott – you do understand Japan pays the bulk of the bill for America to park its forces in Japan. America is the one that can’t afford to leave.
Robert Martens My students are clever, they use a dictionary.
Gary Burkhalter You’re creepy.
If Russia does not want peace treaty with, neither we japanese want peace treaty with Russia. We first want our north four island to be returned.
You mentioned "The current Japanese rapid military expansion" but that does not true. "Aggression outside its border and occupying Ryukyu islands" is incorrect description and further beyond scope of current topic of Japan against Russia.
Are you serious? Gotta be a joke because that’s one of the dumbest things I have ever heard.
Dear Ms. Gary Burkhalter
Japan might have surrendered WW2 partially because Russia had stepped in. That is one thing. Russia invaded and have been occupying Japanese north four island for more than 70 years. That is completely another thing.
Sei Ota
I perused you FB just to see what kind of idiot you were. Now I clearly get it, you’re an idiot.
Nice Robbie. What subject do you teach? Idiot
English?
But Japan would never have surrendered WW2 if Russia hadn’t stepped in. Only through the fear of losing Hokkaido and then perhaps the mainland of Honshu did the Japanese war machine give up. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki didn’t bother the generals in charge at the time saying "It is only 2 cities, we have many more!" This would have led to more bombing and massive Japanese casualties with Japanese people perhaps speaking Russian today. Mainland Japanese don’t care about the Ainu or the people of Okinawa regarding them to be inferior. The islands hold financial targets and it’s a pride issue. That’s it.
Longest sentence winner. Nice, but toss a period in there sometime.