No Appeal for Returning Territory

It is the Day of Northern Territory on February 7^th every year. The Cabinet led by Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki enacted it in 1981, commemorating anniversary of Treaty of Shimoda between Japan and Russia in 1853 that consists the fundamental basis of Japan’s appeal for Northern Territory belonging to Japan. In the ceremony this year in Tokyo on Tuesday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not use the word of “returning the islands,” supposedly for not inviting anger of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

One thousand and six hundred former residents of Northern Territory, Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai Archipelago, participated in the rally at National Theater in Tokyo, with determined messages for returning their home islands on headbands. Behind the podium on the stage, there hung a large banner reading “Return Northern Four Islands.” That was an ordinary scene for the ceremony.

However, the speech of Prime Minister was something different from ordinary ones. “To settle the issue of Northern Territory that did not move even one millimeter for over seventy years, we need not to insist on historical facts, but to have future-oriented idea drawn by designing the future of the four islands,” said Abe. He explained his meeting with Putin last December as agreed on starting negotiation for new system applied to the islands for economic cooperation based on “new approach.”

The rally has been an annual ceremony for appealing Japan’s ownership of the four islands. Traditional message for this issue has been that those four islands are Japan’s inherited territory. But, Abe did not refer to returning four islands. He only appealed the general concept of Japanese government for concluding peace treaty between Japan and Russia through settling dispute over the belonging of those islands.

In the meeting with Putin, Abe had been drawing a scenario to request returning two islands, Shikotan and Habomai, and make a deal for economic cooperation in Etorofu and Kunashiri. But, Putin did not show any sign of returning even Shikotan and Habomai, unilaterally achieving economic cooperation from Japan. Expecting a progress in next meeting with Putin planned in April, Abe seemed to avoid stimulating Putin’s temper.

The former residents, who had long been mobilized to enhance national movement for returning the territory, were disappointed to the bilateral negotiation. Most of them realized that Abe had achieved nothing in the meeting with Putin. “I’m afraid that mutual economic activities will simply be resulted in improving the quality of life of the Russians in the islands with money from Japan,” told a former resident of Shikotan Island. Prime Minister has to end appealing empty promises.