NEWSWORTHY
Japan and Russia to step up talks on economic activity on disputed isles
Japan and Russia have agreed to start new working-level talks regarding joint economic activity on the four disputed islands off Hokkaido, Foreign Ministry officials said. The director-level task force, launched separately from an existing working-level dialogue involving higher-level officials, is intended to boost coordination on ...
Japan softens tone on North Korea and Russia in foreign policy report as Abe pursues deals
Tokyo removed a reference to applying “maximum pressure” on Pyongyang and stopped short of explicitly claiming ownership of the Russian-held islands off Hokkaido.
Abe has abandoned June timeline for Japan-Russia peace treaty, says source
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has given up on reaching a broad agreement on a Japan-Russia peace treaty when he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June amid persisting differences over how to settle a long-standing territorial dispute, a government source said Thursday. Instead, the ...
Foreign Minister Taro Kono to visit Moscow in mid-May for Japan-Russia peace treaty talks
Foreign Minister Taro Kono plans to visit Moscow in mid-May for a meeting with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to advance postwar peace treaty talks that have stalled over a territorial dispute, a Japanese government source said Wednesday. The two-day visit from May 11 has been ...
Hokkaido Museum surveying disputed Russian-held isles in bid to save Japanese artifacts
The Hokkaido Museum in Sapporo has been surveying historical artifacts on the four Russian-held isles claimed by Japan through a bilateral arrangement that lets Japanese former residents make visa-free visits. Hiroshi Ushiro, the chief curator, used the program to make visits from 2005 through 2018 ...
Japan files protest with Russia over planned shooting practice near disputed island off Hokkaido
Japan lodged a protest over a planned Russian shooting exercise in waters near one of the four islands off Hokkaido that are at the center of a bilateral territorial dispute, the Japanese government said Thursday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference the ...
Russian envoy claims Japan's sanctions violate 1956 declaration
Tokyo's sanctions against Russia violate the 1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration, Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin claimed Wednesday. In his speech at a members-only event organized by the Research Institute of Japan, a Jiji Press affiliate, Galuzin argued that the Japanese sanctions contradict the statement's ...
Russia begins military drill on disputed islands off Hokkaido
The Russian military on Tuesday launched an exercise on Etorofu and Kunashiri, two of the four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido claimed by Japan, according to the Interfax news agency. Some 500 troops from machine gun and artillery units participated in the drill, which included practicing ...
Russia's Sergey Lavrov asks why Japan PM Abe is confident of ending row over islands off Hokkaido
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has questioned why Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is confident of resolving the long-standing territorial dispute between Japan and Russia over four Russian-held Pacific islands known as the Northern Territories. Abe expressed his resolve to advance the post-World War II peace ...
Japanese government-backed rally over islands held by Russia adopts muted tone amid talks
The statement adopted at the protest in Tokyo omitted phrases used in the past that could inflame tensions with the Kremlin.
Annual rally seeking return of Russia-held isles may tone down language to appease Moscow
The organizers of an annual rally calling for the return of Russian-held islands off Hokkaido may refrain from issuing a declaration that includes language potentially upsetting for Moscow, according to sources close to the matter, as Japan seeks a breakthrough in the decades-old dispute ...
77% of Russians oppose handover of disputed islands off Hokkaido to Japan
Seventy-seven percent of Russians oppose handing over a group of disputed islands to Japan while just 14 percent support such a move, a survey has shown. The survey released Monday by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, a government-affiliated body, asked respondents whether Russia should ...
