[Tintin Storm]

South Kuriles are the most remote, the most mysterious and the most problematic islands of Russia. Perhaps every literate Russian citizen heard about the "island problem", although the essence of the problem for many is just as vague as the weather in the Far Eastern region.
Bilateral negotiations on the ownership of the South Kuriles have been dragging on for many years, without leading to concrete results. Therefore, both sides concluded that it would be much more productive to carry out some joint economic activities of Russia and Japan in the disputed South Kurils.
The implementation of joint economic activities of Russia and Japan in the Kuril Islands should begin with the selection of projects by businessmen of the two countries. Then the parties will bring under them a legal basis.
Official Tokyo, which considers the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and a group of smaller islands of Habomai "original Japanese territories," has always advocated that any economic activity on the islands at the expense of Japanese investors fall under Japanese legal jurisdiction. Moscow believes that this is the Russian territory and, accordingly, the laws on it are only Russian.
The agreement on joint economic activities in the South Kuril Islands was reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in December 2016.
It is known that all future projects will go in five ways: tourism, wind energy, growing greenhouse vegetables, fishing and garbage recycling. These spheres were agreed by the leaders of the two countries during the meeting in Vladivostok in early September 2017.
Earlier, the Kuril Islands was visited by a large business mission from Japan. Within 4 days, the delegation led by the special adviser of prime minister Eiiti Hasegawa visited islands Kunashir, Iturup and Shikotan. Businessmen and authorities familiarized themselves with the work of many objects of transport, energy, tourism, trade, fisheries and medicine. Meetings were held with the leadership of the region and entrepreneurs.
During the trip, Japanese investors showed interest in cooperation in the fishing industry, tourism and trade. Also, joint projects on the development of alternative energy and utilization of domestic waste were discussed.
Regarding the question of the Southern Kuriles ownership, it would be appropriate to mention that Japan initially demanded the transfer of all 4 disputed islands. Now there is another option, which according to opinion polls is supported by a certain proportion of ordinary Japanese: Iturup and Kunashir to Russia; and Shikotan and Habomai to Japan. Russian officials have repeatedly stated that the Kurils belong to Russia, and the discussions are inappropriate.