Kishida vows to reopen talks on access to graves on Russian-held islands

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida indicated to former residents of four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido on Tuesday that he will prioritize reopening talks with Moscow on allowing them to visit their ancestral graves as soon as possible.

Kishida was speaking at an annual gathering in Tokyo of former residents of the four islands — known as the Northern Territories in Japan — and their families and supporters.

A joint declaration by the government and related organizations condemned Russia’s "illegal occupation" of the four northern islands by the Soviet Union 77 years ago at the end of World War II, adding that it was unacceptable that it still continues. It marked the first time since 2018 that the phrase "illegal occupation" had been used in the declaration.

But in his separate remarks, the prime minister did not demand that Russia return all four islands. He spoke only about efforts his government would make to reopen negotiations on the issue of visiting graves. He did not say, as he has done in the past, that the four islands are "illegally occupied" or part of Japan’s "inherent territory."

“The resumption of people-to-people exchanges to and projects in the four islands, including the visits to the Northern Territories, is one of the top priorities of Japan-Russia relations going forward,” Kishida said at the meeting.

Kishida's comments come as the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, with Japan having imposed sanctions on Moscow in response to the war, freezing the relationship.

Citing the sanctions, Russia announced in September that it was scrapping a long-standing agreement allowing former Japanese residents of the islands to visit them without visas, which triggered a protest from Tokyo.

With no sign of peace in Ukraine or a thaw in Japan’s relationship with Russia, the aging former islanders are becoming increasingly concerned that time is not on their side.

“It’s extremely regrettable the present situation is such that, with the Ukraine invasion, it's impossible for Japan and Russia to reopen discussions on a peace treaty or allowing former residents of the four islands to visit their ancestors' grave sites," said Kimio Waki, head of a group of former residents, at Tuesday’s ceremony.

“This is not something we can accept. The average age of the former residents is now over 87 years. They don’t have a lot of time left,” he added.

The four islands are Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islets. A part of Japan prior to World War II, the islands were seized by Russia in late August 1945, just after the war had ended. The nearly 17,000 residents at the end of the war had been forced off the islands by 1948.

In 1956, Japan and the Soviet Union signed a declaration ending the state of war between the two countries, but not a formal peace treaty. Both countries agreed to continue negotiations on a peace treaty after restoring normal diplomatic relations, and the Soviet Union agreed to hand over the Habomai islets and Shikotan to Japan after the conclusion of a peace treaty.

Visa-free visits to graves on the islands have been conducted by former residents and their family members since 1964.

There are 5,322 former islanders still alive, organizers of Tuesday’s event said.

In Sapporo on Tuesday, former islanders and their supporters attempted to highlight the issues around the islands to local residents and foreign tourists in town for the annual Sapporo Snow Festival.

One former resident of Etorofu, 86-year-old Noriko Mukaida, said she wanted the Kishida administration to convince Russia to allow grave visits as quickly as possible. But she added that, despite the fact that diplomatic relations with Russia are frozen, public awareness of the issue is still strong, even among younger generations.

“It doesn’t seem as if people are forgetting about the Northern Territories, at least here in Hokkaido. A lot of people continue to study it,” she said.