Reporters asked to register with Russia to cover visa-free exchanges+

TOKYO, May 13 Kyodo -
Russia has asked Japanese reporters and photographers who are planning to
accompany compatriots to the disputed islands off Hokkaido as part of this
year's visa-free exchange program to register with Moscow and obtain a press
pass, Japanese officials said Thursday.
Press members covering the visa-free exchanges between Japanese nationals and
local residents of the Russian-administered islands have so far visited the
areas without a press card. Applying for such a certification would mean
applicants recognize Moscow's control over the islands.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry has asked the journalists to join the program as
ordinary participants without obtaining the pass and refrain from some news
gathering activities such as video shooting and individual interviews.
State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Koichi Takemasa said at a press conference
that press members are requested to act as ordinary participants so as to
''avoid contingencies and ensure smooth implementation of future exchanges and
reporters' participation.''
Muneo Suzuki, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs
Committee, asked Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin to flexibly
deal with the matter when the two met in Moscow on Wednesday.
The visa-free exchange program, initiated in 1992, is intended to deepen mutual
understanding between the two countries toward a solution to the territorial
dispute. This year's first visit to the islands by Japanese nationals,
including former islanders, will begin Friday.
Japan and Russia both claim the Etorofu, Kunashiri and Shikotan islands as well
as the Habomai islet group off Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.
The four islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and in Russia as
the Southern Kurils, came under the control of the Soviet Union at the end of
World War II. The long-standing territorial row has kept both nations from
signing a peace treaty since the end of the war.
Moscow has put pressure against the visa-free exchanges since a revised
Japanese law was enacted last July that declared the disputed islands an
''integral part'' of Japan.
==Kyodo
2010-05-13 23:31:27