Special Legal Situation

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had an unusually long meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Nagato, Yamaguchi, Thursday evening. In the intermission of the meeting, Abe announced to the press that they had a detailed discussion over joint economic activity in disputed Northern Territory under special legal situation. While Japan had been reluctant to get into economic cooperation in the territory under administration of Russia, Japanese media focused on what Abe meant with the term of “special.”

It was the first visit of Putin to Japan since 2005 and the sixteenth meeting for them. As his business as usual, Putin delayed for two and a half hours, leaving Abe waiting in a Japanese-style hotel with hot spring. At the beginning of meeting, Abe said that he was glad to have welcomed Putin to his “hometown,” although Abe was raised in Tokyo. “I expect these meetings today and tomorrow to contribute progress of Russia-Japan relationship,” replied Putin.

The first half of three-hour meeting was made with participation of some of their ministers one and a half hour, and the latter was a direct talk of two leaders only with interpreters. Before their dinner talk, Abe appeared to the press corps and made intermediate report. “In our small-numbers meeting, we talked about importance of constructive role of Russia to our bilateral relationship or international issues, or about possibility of our joint efforts to solve a lot of problems,” told Abe.

On direct talk with Putin, Abe revealed that they discussed free visit of former residents of Northern Territory to their homeland, joint economic activities in the territory under special legal situation and the issue of peace treaty. Japanese press made detailed analysis on “special legal situation.” Asahi Shimbun argued that the idea was close to the proposal from former Russian President Boris Yeltsin to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi in 1998, in which Yeltsin offered special legislation to have joint economic activities in Northern Territory without eroding national interest and political standpoint of both sides. Obuchi did not accept the proposal with concern of losing traditional standpoint of Japan.

In the meeting with Putin this May, Abe proposed “new approach” in the negotiation over Northern Territory, which included active economic cooperation before achieving peace treaty, leaving traditional arguments of both sides aside. Eight Plans for Economic Cooperation, proposed by Abe this year, can be applied to Northern Territory, if progress in territorial negotiation would be possible.

However, Russian side is not willing to release application of domestic legislation to the territory. Advisor of Russian President, Yuri Ushakov, unequivocally explained Thursday night that joint economic activities would be made under Russian laws and that the islands belonged to Russia. While Abe handed over a letter from former residents of Northern Territory to Putin, the their long-time hope of going back to home islands could not be achieved.