Hatoyama vows to resolve territorial row with Russia, calls it priority

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TOKYO, Feb. 7 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Sunday expressed his determination to resolve
a territorial dispute with Russia at an annual rally to press for the early
return of four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, describing settlement of the
issue as ''the biggest wish'' of his administration.
''Resolving the issue of the Northern Territories is the biggest wish that I
want to fulfill after the change of government,'' Hatoyama said, pledging to
make all-out efforts toward realizing the desire of former residents to return
to the islands.
Hatoyama also said the two countries' 1956 joint declaration ''cannot be a
conclusion'' and that he would start by ''clarifying to whom the four islands
belong.''
The Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration, signed by then Prime Minister Ichiro
Hatoyama, the premier's grandfather, restored diplomatic relations between the
countries. The declaration stipulates that Shikotan Island and the Habomai
islet group would be returned to Japan after the two countries conclude a peace
treaty.
''There are various approaches (to resolving the dispute). There are big
advantages for Russia if it gets closer to Japan, which is economically and
technologically advanced,'' Hatoyama said, reiterating his plan to
simultaneously promote economic exchanges and negotiations to settle the
territorial dispute.
During his meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last year, Hatoyama
said he would not accept the idea of settling the territorial dispute with the
return of two of the four islands, which also include Kunashiri and Etorofu.
The rally is held every year in Japan to mark Northern Territories Day, which
commemorates the conclusion of the Treaty of Commerce, Navigation and
Delimitation on Feb. 7, 1855, in which Japan and Russia confirmed that the four
islands are Japanese territory.
The Soviet Union occupied the islands, known in Japan as the Northern
Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kurils, at the end of World War II.
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Seiji Maehara, the minister in charge of
issues related to Okinawa and the Northern Territories, also joined the rally
attended by former Japanese residents of the islands.
==Kyodo
2010-02-07 21:13:10