Tokyo will not give up its claim that Russia’s southern Kuril Islands in the Pacific Ocean are rightfully Japanese, and wants to reach a deal with Moscow to resolve the dispute, its foreign minister said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference, Yoshimasa Hayashi responded to claims by his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that Tokyo is refusing to recognize the results of the Second World War, when the Soviet Union took control of the Kuril Islands.
“Our sovereignty extends to the four Northern Islands,” Hayashi said. “We intend to continue persistent negotiations on the basis of our basic position, which is the desire to sign a peace treaty after the territorial issue is resolved.”
The Northern Islands is the name given by Japan to the four islands at the bottom of the Kuril chain. The landmasses, named Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and Habomai, were all part of Japan before World War Two.