[Tintin Storm]

Extraordinary parliamentary elections of October 2017 in Japan brought the ruling coalition a convincing victory. The Liberal Democratic Party and its partner, the Komeito Party, receive more than two-thirds of the seats, holding 313 of the 465 seats in the parliament. Thus, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe receives powerful legislative support for his policy, and, therefore, the official Tokyo will continue to pursue a smooth rapprochement with Moscow, moving towards concluding a peace treaty by seeking compromises in solving the problem of the southern Kuril Islands.
Speaking at a pre-election rally in Sapporo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe clearly outlined the purpose of his policy towards Russia: he said he would do his best to sign a peace treaty with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the basis of the so-called "territorial issue" solution. The Japanese prime minister believes that all the islands of the southern part of the Kuril Ridge, including the largest and most developed ones, Kunashir and Iturup, should be transferred to the sovereignty of Japan in the foreseeable future. It should be recalled that, theoretically, he can hold the post of prime minister until 2021 and, consequently, this is the time Abe allocates to achieving Moscow's consent to transfer to Japan Kuril Islands.
All this means that Japan is not ready to back away from its initial demands, insisting on the transfer of territories that are more than half of the entire Kuril Ridge and are the most developed and populated islands. Undoubtedly, such a desire can not meet the understanding of the Russian leadership, as has been repeatedly stated, including at the highest level.
It should be noted that the South Kuril Islands are part of the border of the Russian Federation, which not only serves as a frontier line with Japan, but also represents a natural frontier for the protection of the entire Far Eastern coast of Russia, which allows to get full control over the water area of the Sea of Okhotsk and provide free access to the Russian navy in the Pacific Ocean.
Not only Japan, but also its US ally, are interested in this region. Therefore, leaving Russia from the southern Kuriles and transferring them to Japanese control may lead to the creation of new US military bases on them, and the Japanese leadership does not deny such possibility.
But the matter of the fate of these islands is not limited to military-strategic and economic interests. This is a very acute issue of honor and national dignity of Russia. Russian diplomats carelessly gave rise to the Japanese leadership to hope for a review of the outcome of World War II in the destructive euphoria of "perestroika", and although Tokyo exhibits a subtle diplomatic flair, these hopes remain. The concession of the Kuril Islands would be an extraordinary precedent for the resumption of territorial disputes throughout the world.
The Japanese persuasion of Moscow to meet the territorial claims of Tokyo is likely to become a long-term policy strategy for Abe. Tokyo understands that Moscow will not make concessions on the territorial issue, and, consequently, the conclusion of a peace treaty with Russia, which was never signed after the Second World War is not yet foreseen. Thus, the Japanese government is at an impasse. Japan needs to sign a peace treaty with Russia, but at the same time does not want to give up claims to the southern Kuril Islands.

[ThirdTerm]

The Japanese prime minister believes that all the islands of the southern part of the Kuril Ridge, including the largest and most developed ones, Kunashir and Iturup, should be transferred to the sovereignty of Japan in the foreseeable future.

Abe's ultimate goal is signing a peace treaty with Russia, by which Japan can retrieve two smaller islands located close to Kunashir and Iturup. Japan needs to recognize Russia's legitimate right to possess Kunashir and Iturup as a precondition of the peace treaty originally proposed by the Soviets in the 1950s and formally hand over Kunashir and Iturup to Russia. Otherwise, there will be no hikiwake (draw) to settle the dispute. Article 9 of the Joint Declaration Soviet–Japanese (1951) stated: "The U.S.S.R. and Japan have agreed to continue, after the establishment of normal diplomatic relations between them, negotiations for the conclusion of a peace treaty. Hereby, the U.S.S.R., in response to the desires of Japan and taking into consideration the interest of the Japanese state, agrees to hand over to Japan the Habomai and the Shikotan Islands, provided that the actual changing over to Japan of these islands will be carried out after the conclusion of a peace treaty".

“A peace treaty between Japan and Russia has not been concluded yet, even after 70 years have passed since the end of World War Two,” Abe told reporters in London. “It is an extremely unusual situation. Infinite possibilities are latent in the cooperation between Japan and Russia.”

Russia and Japan did not sign a formal peace treaty at the end of World War Two because of a dispute over islands in the Western Pacific, called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kuriles in Russia.

The islands were seized by Soviet forces at the end of World War Two and 17,000 Japanese residents were forced to flee.

“Russia’s constructive engagement is essential in resolving global challenges,” Abe said. “It is my intention to continue to have dialogue with President [Vladimir] Putin, so as to co-ordinate regarding these challenges.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brit ... SKBN17V0AN