Japan PM Fumio Kishida reiterates commitment to resolve Kuril Islands dispute with Russia

Newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated to resolve the issue of the disputed island with Russia very soon, news agency Sputnik reported on Wednesday. According to the reports, the statement from the Prime Minister came at a hearing in the upper house of Japan's parliament. Citing Kishida, the news agency said that Japan has been consistent with its position on the issue of ownership of four disputed islands. Notably, both nations have a decades-old territorial controversy regarding the autonomy of the four islands— Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and Habomai— which the Soviet Union captured in 1945. Subsequently, Tokyo surrendered in front of the Soviet Union.

"Since then, Japan has been trying to re-capture the island that currently falls under the jurisdiction of Russia. They (Japan) argues the expansion was unconstitutional and demands their return, while Russia says it was a legitimate consequence of the war. "The sovereignty of our country extends to the Northern Territories [Southern Kuril Islands]. The government has not changed its stance on this matter. The subject of negotiations on the conclusion of the peace treaty [with Russia] is the issue of ownership of the four islands. This is Japan's consistent position," Sputnik quoted the Japanese Prime >inister as saying during a hearing in the upper house of Japan's parliament.

PM Fumio Kishida reiterates to speed up 2018 deal

Further, he noted that the issue could no longer be delayed, and Japan would continue the efforts to resolve it based on previous agreements. It is worth noting in 2018, Japan and Russia agreed to speed up discussions on the peace treaty on the basis of the Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration of 1956. During the joint declaration, Russia agreed to consider the feasibility of transferring the Habomai and Shikotan islands to Japan.                                                                                                                                     

Earlier this month, Kishida had a telephonic conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin where the two leaders agreed to solve the issue of four islands. According to the report, the Japanese leader dialled Putin to wish him on his birthday and talked for around 25 minutes over various topics including, negotiations for a postwar peace deal. However, irrespective of Putin's assurance, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday expressed disagreement with Kishida's earlier statements about Japan's ownership of the disputed islands, saying they belong to Russia.

With inputs from ANI

Image: AP