Jay Wilson comments

The Russians can not be trusted to return any of the islands to Japan. This is after that corrupt fool in the Kremlin said that th '56 deal is still valid. Putin speak with forked tongue

No islands returned = No investment

Russia was never going to return any of the islands back to Japan; they can not be trusted to keep their word

turbotsat: Where do we sign up?

Kremlin butt-kisser

Does anyone actually think that this will bear fruit? Russia is just trying to drive a wedge between Tokyo and Washington as Moscow has no intention of honoring any treaty or returning any of the islands

Russia gave away islands to China so why is it so hesitant to do so with Japan?

DieRealityCheck: Yes Soviet enter the war breaking the pact , ignorig Japanese effort for peace talk, raped, killed Japanese civilians runnning away from Manchuria, which were also what you call the spoil of the war, by the way.... for pure Humanitarianism. no motives for territorial expansions, what so ever

Well said friend

This is simple:

No return of islands = No Peace Treay

smithinjapan: Face it. Japan lost this one when they lost the war. And lost it again with what Putin is referring to. Now they keep on losing it because of such attitudes that they are entitled to all of them, or even any, when they are 100% Russian islands.

What attitude would you suggest they take? IMHO no matter what "attitude" Japan coould take, that fool in the Kremlin won't return any of the islands to Japan. So the onus is on moscow, not Tokyo

About the '56 deal, that putin brought up, he himself has said back in the early 00's that Russia will now give Japan no territory. So HOW THE HELL can he talk about a missed chance, the lying dictator.

let us not forget the damm russians expelled the Japanese residents of the islands when they annexed them

Talking to putin will solve nothing

here's hoping everyone in the region ignores China's claims like china ignored the ruling

China is rejecting the outcome of the case but they would turn about and endorese the case if they had won. This sounds like Beijing throwing its toys out of its ppram because it did not get what it wanted. And how on Earth can they "talk/discuss" the situation with the philipines when China has said it will not move from its position? That sounds like and is China speaking with forked tounge

Dan R K Sparkman: One monumental difference is that there was an election, an exercise of voting. Can't say the same for the current history in Beijing. A world of difference & empowerment.

Well said

Farmboy: Jay, do you remember the last Korean War? Vietnam? The Middle East? Wars don't end as fast as they start, and there are dead bodies on both sides

Yes, I remember them. But China has said that if North Korea provokes a conflict, they will not help them so they will get creamed by Washington/Seoul

What can the Norks do to the US? If they take ANY military against the South or the US, then they will get bombed back to the stoneage

If Japan wants to revise its Constitution, it should be able to; China has no say in what Japan does. Beijing is just wetting itself because if China starts any trouble, Japan can come to the aid of its allies.

OssanAmerica: So are you saying that Russia is lying?

Yes, that is exactly what I am saying

What the Kremlin said: Russia, Japan to continue seeking compromise in territorial dispute

What they really mean: Japan will not get any of the islands back

Uwe Paschen: Russia has reached out to Japan on several occasion and this with good intentions. Japan slammed the door shut raging a temper tantrum like a child whose big brother is watching over it so that it would not get hit. The irony is that both Russia and China as well as South Korea have all tried several times now to make a peaceful agreement with Japan. Japan is not that important any longer, neither strategically nor economically. It should stop burning bridges and shutting doors to people who try to make a peaceful and for all side honorable settlement. Russia as well as China or South Korea had no ill intention. It is time to grow up Japan. Sorry to burst the Disney World Bubbles here.

What utter and total rubbish you do talk. China and South Korea have NEVER tried to solve the territorial disputes with Japan peacefully. And it was RUSSIA who has scuppered the deal with Japan by saying they will not return any territory to Tokyo while saying the '56 deal is still valid. That is evidence of Russian speaking with forked tounge

Smithinjapan: if they are Russian islands and Japan is not going to get any of them back, why does Putin say the '56 deal is still valid? And does this action not prove that Putin is lying about the '56 deal still being valid?

If the dictator in the Kremlin wants better relations with Japan and wants a way to resolve this dispute once and for all, why not make an offer to the Japanese government to return to of the islands to Japan

If Japan got support from South Korea in regards to other territorial disputes Japan has, maybe Tokyo would be willing to drop this textbook issue

B.l. Sharma: Developing friendship with Russia will pay dividends to Japan in the long run. Right approach followed by PM Abe

What utter rubbish you do talk. Japan developed fri he ship with the soviets and got nothing in return. Friendship works out only when both parties get something out of it; so what would Japan get out of friendship with Russia?

If Russia does not return any of the islands, then they can forget about better relations with Japan and the much-needed Japanese investment in the Russian far-east

Steve Crichton:Yuzhno Sakhalinsk is just a quick flight from Hokkaido and there u can enjoy the warmth of the Russian hospitality. Trust me.

"Russian hospitality" is a myth, just like Russia's promise to return two if the islands back to Japan

Russia can not be trusted

yamashi: The answer is simple. China is an independent country while de facto Japan is an American military colony. Giving a piece of territory to China, Russia is not in risky situation to get U.S. base there. Giving Kuril islands to Japan, Russian can easily get U.S. listening post, naval harbor or air field right on this disputed land. In short, being a military and political servant of the USA, Japan has zero chances to return the disputed territories.

Do you really believe that Moscow would have returned any of the islands to Japan if there had been no Us presence to defend Japan or do you think the soviet a would have bullied Japan? The USSR could not be trusted and neither can Russia; just look at their actions in Ukraine. And if they are so scared of American military being put on the islands, why not include that as a clause for returning them? But then again, Russia just takes and takes, it gives nothing back except to those who tow the Russian line, like China

YuriOtani:Russia has to offer something for peace. Nothing will just not work and perhaps a treaty will never be signed. Perhaps the 56 agreement could still be made to work. Get 2 islands back and kicking the Americans out of Japan. There is no need for US bases in Japan and what does Japan owe South Korea? Abe needs to stop carrying water for the Americans and do his job as the leader of Japan.

Do you really think Russia will offer Japan anything and keep its promise? It broke the 56 deal when the defence treaty with the US was signed. Russia can not be trusted

smithinjapan: They tried, numerous times

If by "they tried" you really mean "take it or leave it". If they negotiated in good faith with China, why not with Japan?. Moscow did not say to Beijing "take it or leave it" so why take that attitude with Japan. And Japan has done more to earn respect than Russia