[Tintin Storm]

The territorial dispute between Russia and Japan on the issue of ownership of the southern Kuril Islands or, as they are called in Japan, the "Northern territories" has been remaining unresolved since the end of the Second World War.
After the war, the Kurile Islands became part of the USSR. But Japan considers the territory of the South Kurils, such as Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan with a group of Habomai islands, to be its own, without any legal basis. Russia does not recognize the fact of a dispute with the Japanese side over these territories, since its property is legitimate.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe believes that the return of the southern Kurile Islands of Japan is a heartfelt desire of Japanese citizens, and the signing of a peace treaty between Tokyo and Moscow bears benefit for both sides. This opinion he expressed, speaking at a rally in the city of Sapporo (Hokkaido Prefecture) on October 15, 2017.
"The return of the "Northern territories" is our heartfelt desire. We are determined to settle this issue in our generation, "Abe said. The statement was made in the framework of the election campaign before the elections to the parliament.
The Premier added that he would seek "to create conditions under which Russia could understand that signing a peace treaty bears benefits for both countries." Earlier, Abe claimed that the return of the islands was one of his main tasks.
To achieve the goal of returning the "Northern territories" in a "peaceful way", the Japanese prime minister invests significant budgetary funds for the activities of non-governmental organizations. The largest and most authoritative Japanese public organizations advocating the "return" of Japan to the southern Kuril Islands are: the League of Solidarity for the Return of the Northern Territories, the Association for the Return of the Northern Territories and the League of Residents of the Kurile and Habomai Islands.
The main goal of the organizations is to achieve a peaceful "return of the northern territories" by popularizing this problem among the population of the country and the international community. These organizations exist at the expense of membership fees, donations, as well as financial support of the state. Every year they intensify propaganda work among the population, especially among youth and schoolchildren, and set the task to improve interaction with the Russian-speaking population of the Kuril Islands.
Propaganda activities of organizations are widely spread during the trips of Japanese delegations to the Kuril Islands. As part of the Japanese delegations, there are always members of these organizations who conduct meetings with the local population, carrying out a massive informative and psychological impact on the residents of the South Kurils. At the same time, cartographic aggression was widespread, when the South Kurils depicted as a territory belonging to Japan on the maps.
The activities of public organizations that support the early return of the "Northern territories" play an important role in drawing attention to this problem, both for the Japanese themselves and for the world community. The effectiveness of this propaganda activity is evident in the fact that today the problem of "Northern territories" is being already considered at the national level in Japan at the national level.
The systematic massive impact on the country's public has strengthened in the minds of a certain section of the Japanese population the thesis that Russia allegedly illegally holds the islands of the Lesser Kuril Ridge, as well as Iturup and Kunashir, and that the Russian-Japanese borders, formed as a result of World War II, should be reviewed.