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Russia |
Relations between Russia and Japan are a continuation of Japanese-Soviet relations. Relations between the two nations are hindered primarily by a dispute over the Kuril Islands, a dispute that is long-running, but rarely gets serious enough to concern other nations. On February 10, 1904, a conflict between Imperial Japan and the Russian Empire resulted in the Russo-Japanese war over Manchuria and Korea. This, and several smaller conflicts, prevented both countries from signing a peace treaty after World War II. As of 2011 matters remain unresolved.
The government of Boris Yeltsin took power in Russia in late 1991 upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Once again, Moscow took a stand in opposition to returning the disputed territories to Japan. Although Japan joined with the Group of Seven industrialized nations in contributing some technical and financial assistance to Russia, relations between Tokyo and Moscow remained poor. In September 1992, Russian president Boris Yeltsin postponed a scheduled visit to Japan. The visit took place on October 11, 1993. He made no further concessions on the Kuril Islands dispute over the four Kuril Islands (northeast of Hokkaido), a considerable obstacle to Japanese-Russian relations, but did agree to abide by the 1956 Soviet pledge to return two areas (Shikotan and the Habomai Islands) to Japan. Yeltsin also apologized repeatedly for Soviet mistreatment of Japanese prisoners of war after World War II. In March 1994, then Japanese minister of foreign affairs Hata Tsutomu visited Moscow and met with Russian minister of foreign affairs Andrei Kozyrev and other senior officials. The two sides agreed to seek a resolution over the persistent Kuril Islands dispute, but the decision of the dispute is not expected in the near future. Despite the territorial dispute, Hata offered some financial support to Russian market-oriented economic reforms. On July 30, 1998, the newly elected Japanese prime minister Keizō Obuchi had focused on major issues: signing a peace treaty with Russia, and renewing the Japanese economy. Unfortunately before his death, his policy with the Russian Federation has avoided implementation and the relations between the two nations remained under a state of war.
On August 16, 2006, Russian maritime authorities killed a Japanese fisherman and captured a crab fishing boat in the waters around the disputed Kuril Islands. The Russian foreign ministry has claimed that the death was caused by a "stray bullet".[1]
On 28 September 2006, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would "continue the dialogue with the new Japanese government. We will build our relations, how the peoples of the two countries want them to be. Foreign Minister Taro Aso remained on his post in the government. We have good, long-standing relations, we will act under the elaborated program."[2]
The dispute over the Southern Kuril Islands deteriorated Russo-Japan relations when the Japanese government published a new guideline for school textbooks on July 16, 2008 to teach Japanese children that their country has sovereignty over the Kuril Islands. The Russian public was generally outraged by the action and demanded the government to counteract. The Foreign Minister of Russia announced on July 18, 2008 "[these actions] contribute neither to the development of positive cooperation between the two countries, nor to the settlement of the dispute." and reaffirmed its sovereignty over the islands.[3][4]
On January 30, 2010, Russian border guards engaged in a dispute with two Japanese fishing boats.[5]
After the election of the new Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, a statement was done by him that he would energetically address Japan’s ties with Russia and would "push the wheels of the cart forward", both in the field of politics and economics, which would eventually lead to a peace treaty after the many years of the Kuril Islands Dispute.[6] Medvedev visited Kunashir Island on November 1 where he described the Kuril islands as "a very important region in our country," and angered Japan, whose Prime Minister Naoto Kan called his visit "regrettable".
Following the heating up of the dispute in early 2011, President Dmitry Medvedev ordered significant reinforcements to the Russian defences on the Kuril Islands in February 2011.
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