politics

Japan to survey disputed islets in Aug. for projects with Russia

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Correction to the above leading quote -

"Possession is nine-tenths of the law."

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"Possion is nine-tenths of the law."

Think big to leverage the other one-tenth...

After many years of territorial disputes between Imperial Russia and Imperial Japan the 1855 Treaty of Shimoda defined the border between Russia and Japan to be the strait between two of the Kurile Islands Etorofu (Iuturup) and Uruppu (Urup). It left the ownership of Sakhalin (Karafuto) open to question and unresolved.

In the 1875 Treaty of St. Petersburg Japanese claims to the island of Sakhalin (Karafuto) were dropped in exchange for the northern Kurile Islands. Thereby giving Russia the whole island of Sakhalin and Japan all of the Kurile Islands, northern and southern.

That seemed to be a reasonable exchange at the time based on the political geography of the time.

When the Russo-Japanese War was ended by the Treaty of Portsmouth (Maine) - brokered under the auspices of the US President Theodore Roosevelt - in Sept. 1905 one of the many things agreed was that the southern half of the island of Sakhalin (Karafuto) was to be ceded to Japan by Russia.

That remained the situation regarding Sakhalin and the Kuriles until August 1945 (a few days after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan) when finally - after much urging by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill - Stalin's Soviet Russia declared war on Imperial Japan.

One result of that decision by Stalin was the seizure of the whole island of Sakhalin and all of the Kuriles and other smaller islands north of Hokkaido and absorbed them all, de facto, into the USSR.

The1951 Treaty of San Francisco was meant to conclude a lasting peace between Japan and all the allied nations they had fought in WWII and to resolve the situation regarding the islands.

However, agreement could not be reached between the USSR and Japan on the tems of the treaty, so the USSR refused to sign it.

In 1956, when the USSR offered, to return the smaller islands of Shikotan and Habomai but to retain the larger islands of Etorofu and Kunashiri, which were both claimed by Japan, the Japanese were reluctantly preparing to agree.

However, the US government warned Japan that such an agreement would result in Okinawa being retained by the US and not being returned to Japan.

Instead, in the the same year 1956, Japan and Russia did sign a joint declaration ending the state of war that technically still existed between them.

Therefore no final comprehensive peace treaty has yet been concluded between Japan and Russia, nor any real resolution of the status of the disputed islands agreed and they remmain under Russian control to this day.

Japan is the dummy partner of the USA in a global bridge game against Russia and China.

Japan could suggest to the Americans that they try to broker the 'trading' of the Senkaku islands to China in return for the return of the disputed Kurile islands to Japan by Russia.

In return the the US and EU would recognise the Crimea as Russian, provided the Russians evacuate their nuclear-armed enclave of Kaliningrad that is situated just behind NATO's frontline with Russia in the Baltic.

All that might just bring about a tidy end to the loose ends of WWII.

Oh, almost forgot, Taiwan to be returned to China in return for them relinquishing Tibet.

Dream on...

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

From my point of view, there are 2 small islands near northern Hokkaido that can be back to Japan and the further bigger 2 island will never be back to Japan. The reason that those 4 islands won't be easily belongs to Japan is because Russia wants those territories to be developed by Japanese govt. invested and won't be territory of Russia nor Japan for a span of time. If I represent Japan I try to have those islands a "free zone market", Both countries Japan, Russia find ways of taxation exceptions, and find ways to JPN/ RSA have a mutual dealing with the commercial activity there. I prefer a free zone now to next go to next steps the real diplomatic discuss about how much Japan has to pay to get them back, with the barriers/ hurdles talked well with details, one by one.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Russia will never return the islands, developed or not developed.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Ganbare, you are living in fantasy land, how will Japan pumping money in to the Russian populated islands, making them economically viable, make it more likely that Russia will hand them and their citizens over to a foreign country?

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Really positive news at last! Joint partnership of the four islands will be good temporarily, with big Japanese Government investment in development, farming and infrustructure. Japanese government can build hotels (big eco-tourism resorts) roads and hospitals.

Ultimately, the four islands reverting to Japan, and permit any Russian Citizen presently living on them to remain on long term (Special Permanent Resident) visas.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

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