The Russo-Japanese visa-less exchange program: Opportunities and limits

Abstract

This paper has shed light on a unique and often highly politicized form of cultural exchange between Russia and Japan. The visa-less exchange program evolved against the backdrop of democratization, decentralization, and widespread poverty in the Russian Federation. These developments fuelled hopes among optimists in Japan that enlightening the disputed islands' current inhabitants about the historical and legal arguments underpinning the Japanese claim to the Northern Territories, as well as allowing the embattled islanders to sample what life could be like post-reversion, might alleviate opposition to Russian territorial concessions or even create “voices from below” actively calling for a pro-Japanese outcome to the dispute. The program has certainly contributed to a breakdown of outdated stereotypes and increased mutual understanding among its participants. However, for Japanese irredentists, the visa-less exchanges have thus far had mixed results: it has contributed to rising proreturn sentiments on Shikotan while seemingly having the opposite effect on Kunashiri and Etorofu. Meanwhile, the program has been slowly stagnating amid criticisms from both sides in recent years regarding its modalities. Doubts therefore remain that the visa-less exchanges can become a catalyst for resolving the territorial dispute.