Japan PM Calls Russia Peace Absence “Vexing and Regrettable”
Eight decades after the war's conclusion, Tokyo and Moscow remain without a formal peace accord, entangled in a dispute over four Kuril archipelago islands at the chain's southern tip.
Soviet forces incorporated the islands in 1945, and Russia maintains they constitute sovereign territory. Japan, however, asserts ownership over what it designates the "Northern Territories."
Takaichi delivered her statement Saturday during a rally commemorating the so-called Northern Territories Day, an annual event promoting Tokyo's position on the Kuril conflict.
"It is really vexing and regrettable that a peace treaty between Japan and Russia has not been concluded and that the Northern Territories issue has not been resolved although 80 years have passed since the war ended," Takaichi declared. She identified reestablishing visitation programs for former Japanese island residents and their descendants as "one of the top priorities in the Japan-Russia relationship."
Relations between the nations deteriorated sharply amid the Ukraine conflict, with Japan joining Western sanctions against Moscow. Citing Tokyo's "clearly unfriendly position," Russia terminated peace negotiations in 2022 and suspended visa-free island access for Japanese nationals.
Since assuming office last October, Takaichi has consistently expressed determination "to resolve the territorial issue." While Moscow has acknowledged this objective, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated late last year that Tokyo maintains a "rather unfriendly stance" toward Russia and participates in "all the unlawful sanctions and restrictions against our country" imposed by the West. Japanese actions have caused bilateral dialogue to be "reduced virtually to zero" recently, Peskov noted.
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