Moscow-Tokyo and the Northern Territories Dispute

Abstract

The most serious barrier today to a major improvement in relations between Tokyo and Moscow is the long-standing and bitter dispute over a number of small islands lying between the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and the USSR's Kamchatka Peninsula. The territories in question-Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai Islands-are claimed by both the Japanese and the Soviets, but have been occupied by the latter since the end of World War II. The first two are the most southerly of the Kuriles, a chain of islands that stretches for around a thousand kilometres between Hokkaido and the Kamchatka Peninsula, and are sometimes known as the southern Kuriles. Shikotan and a cluster of small islands known as the Habomais lie off the northeastern coast of Hokkaido (see Map 1). Japan refers to these islands as the Northern Territories and asserts that their return is the sine qua non for the negotiation of a peace treaty with the USSR to end the formal state of war between the two countries and for the development of good relations with Moscow. The Northern Territories comprise about 5,000 square kilometers, with the southern Kuriles making up 90% of the total land area. No Japanese citizens currently reside in the Kuriles, some 16,000 having been repatriated after the Soviet occupation at the end of World War II. The former Japanese inhabitants had worked on the islands as fishermen, hunters, and agricultural workers, and the abundance of fish in the area also attracted many seasonal workers from Hokkaido during the summer fishing season. With the exception of access to fisheries, the Northern Territories are not, however, of great economic importance to either Japan or the Soviet Union. Their real significance lies in the realms of politics and strategy.