NEMURO, Hokkaido (Kyodo) Local officials in Sakhalin Province have expressed their intention to continue the visa-free exchange program involving the Russian-held disputed islands, Japanese former residents of the islands said.
Sakhalin officials referred to the significance of the program from a standpoint of private-sector diplomacy and Russia's policy is to maintain it, according to members of delegation who returned Monday from a three-day visit under the program.
"We had a meeting in a very friendly atmosphere," said Shigemasa Noguchi, head of the 64-member delegation. It was the fourth such visit this year.
The future of the program appeared uncertain after a ranking official in Russia's Southern Kuril administrative district indicated last month that future visits without visas could be canceled as he showed displeasure with the enactment of a Japanese law declaring the islands an "integral part" of Japan.
Japan and Russia both claim Etorofu, Kunashiri and Shikotan islands as well as the Habomai islet group.