U.S. Base in Northern Territory?

The summit meeting by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month is now proved to be a terrible defeat of Abe in terms of not making any progress in the Northern Territory issue. According to a reviewing story of Asahi Shimbun, Abe had to degrade his goal of the meeting to the level of simply reconfirming basic intention of both leaders to settle the dispute. Putin was even reluctant to it until the last moment of the meeting.

In the meeting at a hotel with hot spring in Nagato, Yamaguchi, on December 15^th, Abe set a goal to show determination of both leaders to settle the issue of having a peace treaty. There was no scenario for that before the meeting and Putin was skeptical on the expression of “determination.” Abe received “ok” from Putin at the end of meeting, reiterating necessity to improve current situation of both nations not having peace treaty. “Both leaders expressed sincere determination for settling peace treaty issue,” described the statement for the press, not a joint statement, of each leader.

Abe offered Putin to broaden human exchange of both nations to Far East, Sakhalin or Northern Territory with ambitions proposal of eight-point economic cooperation in their meeting in Sochi in May. It was the meeting in Vladivostok in September when Abe offered joint economic activities in Northern Territory under special legal system. Putin showed positive attitude on that proposal.

But, the progress of negotiation ended in a meeting of high officials of both governments in Moscow early November. In the meeting with Secretary of Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, the head of National Security Council of Japan, Shotaro Yachi, answered “possible” to a question whether United States would build its military base in Shikotan or Habomai under Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, if Russia would return them as an implementation of Japan-Soviet Union Joint Declaration in 1956. Recognizing the intention of Japan, Putin indicated Abe the end of negotiation. “I heard that one of your staffs told that U.S. military base could be built in the islands, but it will break our negotiation up,” told Putin to Abe in Lima, Peru, in November 19^th.

Abe tried to explain. “It was about principle, but I want to talk about it sincerely. Say no, if you don’t like. Let’s start negotiation now,” said Abe to Putin. However, Putin reiterated afterward his skepticism on what Japan could do for agreement in the negotiation under Japanese obligation to an alliance with U.S. He insisted on joint economic activity in Northern Territory under Russian laws. Abe lost a momentum for Northern Island issue with a few words of his diplomatic advisor.