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Russia Today
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Kremlin comments on Japan's call to finalize peace deal
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that holding contacts with Japan about reaching a peace settlement is impossible given the hostile stance Tokyo maintains towards Moscow. Japan's Foreign Ministry earlier expressed a willingness to finalize a deal that was never concluded after World War II. The two countries have never formally formed a peace treaty following the war due to Japan's claim to the four southernmost islands of the Kuril chain of islands, which were captured by the Soviet Union in 1945. 'Tokyo has hurried to fully support all the unfriendly and hostile steps [taken by the West] towards Russia,' Peskov said on Tuesday, stressing that speaking about a desire to finally reach a peace agreement doesn't align with the actual policies pursued by the Japanese authorities in relation to Russia. Earlier in the day, Japan's Foreign Ministry said that Tokyo planned to settle the issue of a peace deal with Moscow, but reiterated its position that the islands – Kunashir, Shikotan, Iturup, and the islands of the Lesser Kuril Chain – known in Japan as the Northern Territories, are 'originally Japanese and under illegal occupation by Russia.' 'The government will continue to adhere to the policy of resolving the issue of sovereignty over the four northern islands and concluding a peace treaty,' the Foreign Ministry stated in the 2025 edition of its Diplomatic Blue Book, which reviews Japan's foreign affairs activities. Earlier this week, Russia banned Japan's Northern Territories Issue Association, having accused the group of advocating expanding the country's territory by adding the contested islands. The Office of the Russian Prosecutor General said the group is funded by the Japanese authorities while calling itself a non-government organization. READ MORE: Russia bans 'revanchist' Japanese association The two countries have made little progress toward signing a final peace treaty in the eight decades since the end of World War II. While Japan renounced its claims to the Kuril Islands under the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, it later contended that the disputed islands are not part of the Kuril archipelago. Russia, however, maintains that all four islands are part of its sovereign territory. Earlier this year, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said his government would 'firmly adhere' to the policy of resolving the Kurils issue and 'concluding a peace treaty' with Moscow. The prime minister, however, admitted that the current situation in relations between Japan and Russia is difficult due to the Ukraine conflict. Japan has joined the Western sanctions against Russia and has introduced multiple rounds of restrictions on the country since the escalation of the conflict over three years ago. Commenting on Ishiba's statement at the time, Russia's ambassador to Japan, Nikolay Nozdrev, called it unrealistic. He reiterated that Moscow cannot conduct negotiations on a peace treaty while Tokyo maintains its unfriendly stance towards Russia and is seeking to damage Russia's security and economy.
Russia Today
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russia bans ‘revanchist' Japanese association
The Office of the Russian Prosecutor General has designated a Japanese association as 'undesirable' in the country, claiming it is involved in propaganda campaigns that promote revanchism with regard to Russia's Kuril Islands. The two countries never formally concluded a peace treaty after World War II, due to Japan's claim to four islands which the Soviet Union captured during the war. According to the authorities, the Northern Territories Issue Association has been advocating for Japan's 'cartographic expansion' at the expense of Kunashir, Shikotan, Iturup, and the islands of the Lesser Kuril chain – all of which are part of Russia. The organization is 'involved in developing strategies for returning them under Japan's sovereignty,' the prosecutor's office said in a statement on Monday. The Russian authorities also accused the association of 'sponsoring Japan's nationwide movement to reclaim' the Kuril Islands (known in Japan as the Northern Territories), claiming its members are exploiting the issue and publicly refusing to recognize Russian jurisdiction over the islands. Read more Peace treaty with Japan 'unrealistic' – Russian envoy Moscow and Tokyo have made little progress in reaching a final peace treaty over the last eight decades. In the San Francisco Treaty of 1951, Japan renounced its claims to the Kurils, but later argued that the islands in question are not part of the archipelago. Moscow maintains that the four islands are an integral part of Russian territory. In Russia, being labeled 'undesirable' prohibits organizations from operating in the country and imposes legal consequences on residents and companies for financial or other interactions with them. The Russian Justice Ministry currently lists over 200, including major Western influence groups such as George Soros' Open Society Foundations, the US-based German Marshall Fund, and the pro-NATO Atlantic Council.
