“The problem of the islands must be solved in our generation”

Response to Vremya Novostei publications

The Vremya Novostey newspaper published several articles on the problem of the northern territories last year and this year ( September 2 , November 24 and February 4 ). Vremya Novostei is an influential newspaper well known in Russia, and the Japanese government would like to ensure that the Russians understand certain points. In this regard, we would like to express our opinion below.

Let us recall that these articles claim that the Russians were the first to occupy the four northern islands, and that this land previously belonged to Russia. The author writes that Japan lost these islands by accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, which was then confirmed by a memorandum of the American Commander-in-Chief MacArthur and secured by the San Francisco Peace Treaty. All this contradicts the facts. In addition, with reference to the Yalta Agreement, it is stated that in the memorandum of Commander-in-Chief MacArthur and the San Francisco Peace Treaty, the four northern islands are included in the Kuril Islands. On this issue, the Japanese side also takes a different position.

However, our goal is not to refute individual provisions of these articles, but to convey to Russian readers the following three points. And the history of the problem of the northern territories and the position of the Japanese side can be found on the website of the Japanese Embassy in Russia.

Firstly, Japan and Russia are partners in the Asia-Pacific region (APR). Russia is located on the vast continent of Eurasia, bordering Europe to the west and Asia to the east. Russia needs partners not only in the European Union, but also in the Asia-Pacific region, which in recent years has been rapidly moving along the path of economic growth.

The Russian government prioritizes the development of the Far East and Eastern Siberia, striving for their integration into the Asia-Pacific region. To achieve this, mutually beneficial cooperation with the countries of this region is mandatory. In 2009, with the assistance of Japanese companies, Russia's first liquefied natural gas plant was built on Sakhalin. The gas produced there is exported to Japan and other countries. This is a symbolic example of the cooperation mentioned above.

In 2012, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum will be held in the Russian Far East, in Vladivostok. Cooperation between Japan and Russia has also begun here: Japanese companies are assisting in the construction of a bridge to Russky Island and providing the forum venue with electricity and heat. In 2008, trade with Japan amounted to about 4% of Russia's total trade turnover. For Japan, the same figure was about 2%. Taking into account the fact that in terms of the scale of their economies, Russia and Japan rank ninth and second in the world, respectively, it is obvious that the indicator of bilateral trade turnover does not correspond to the potential of our countries. In other words, there is great potential for the development of economic relations.

The second point: on the issue of the northern territories, President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama have reached unity regarding fair and energetic negotiations on a peace treaty in order to finally resolve this problem in our generation.

As you know, in September 2009, the government of Yukio Hatoyama came to power in Japan. In his keynote speech, the Prime Minister, speaking on Japan-Russia relations, announced his intention to actively work towards concluding a peace treaty by finally resolving the problem of the northern territories, pushing forward politics and economics as “two wheels of one cart.” The Prime Minister also expressed his intention to strengthen cooperative relations with Russia as a partner in the Asia-Pacific region.

On the other hand, President Dmitry Medvedev, during the Japan-Russia summit, declared his sincere intention, together with the Hatoyama government, to achieve progress on the territorial issue. He expressed the opinion that it was pointless to discuss this issue based on the way of thinking of the Cold War period.

Thirdly, we would like the Russian reader to understand that negotiations are currently underway between the two countries in order to finally resolve the territorial problem precisely because Japan and Russia take different positions on this issue, including the interpretation of history and legal views. If there were no difference in the positions of the parties, then the problem itself would not exist. The Japanese government believes that a special statement on differences of views on the territorial issue is unproductive, and intends to conduct negotiations in a calm atmosphere. We know that the Russian government is of the same mind.

Finally, for the active development of Japanese-Russian relations, it is necessary to achieve their complete normalization by concluding a peace treaty by finally resolving the issue of ownership of the four northern islands, which remain the main unresolved problem. To solve this problem, in addition to efforts at the government level, the mutual understanding and cooperation of many people, especially the citizens of Japan and Russia, is necessary.

The Government of Japan intends to continue efforts to explain the importance of the consistent development of bilateral relations in a variety of areas in order to deepen mutual understanding between our peoples.

Masaharu KONO, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Russia