ID :
158284
Thu, 01/27/2011 - 17:22
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/158284
The shortlink copeid
Russia invites Japan to meeting on investment in disputed isles
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Jan. 27 Kyodo -Russia has invited a Japanese diplomat in Russia to an investment meeting to be held in Sakhalin by the regional municipality that effectively controls Kunashiri and other islands claimed by Japan, sources close to the matter said Thursday.
Takayuki Koike, Japanese consul general in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, has replied that he would not attend the Feb. 1 meeting, which is aimed at soliciting investment in the Southern Kurils region of Sakhalin Province.
The Southern Kurils region effectively administers Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group, part of what are known in Japan as the Northern Territories.
The invitation to the meeting came as Russia intensifies efforts to affirm its sovereignty over the disputed islands.
In November, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Kunashiri, becoming the first Russian leader to travel to any of the islands.
While claiming that the islands are Russia's territory, Medvedev has been seeking to deepen economic cooperation with Japan, as he said in a local television interview late last year. The invitation seems to be in line with such a policy.
The three islands, plus Etorofu, were seized by the Soviet Red Army shortly after Japan's surrender in World War II on Aug. 15, 1945. The Japanese government has been seeking the return of the islands.
Tokyo has been calling on Japanese companies to refrain from engaging in any economic activities in the disputed islands.
The Japanese Consulate General in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk said the consul general's absence from the meeting is due to the ''irreconcilable'' stances between Japan and Russia.
Sakhalin Gov. Alexander Khoroshavin and other local executives are expected to attend the meeting, where reports on the region's sightseeing and aquafarming businesses will be presented with the aim of attracting investment.
The Russian side has also sent invitations to Japanese and South Korean companies.
Takayuki Koike, Japanese consul general in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, has replied that he would not attend the Feb. 1 meeting, which is aimed at soliciting investment in the Southern Kurils region of Sakhalin Province.
The Southern Kurils region effectively administers Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group, part of what are known in Japan as the Northern Territories.
The invitation to the meeting came as Russia intensifies efforts to affirm its sovereignty over the disputed islands.
In November, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Kunashiri, becoming the first Russian leader to travel to any of the islands.
While claiming that the islands are Russia's territory, Medvedev has been seeking to deepen economic cooperation with Japan, as he said in a local television interview late last year. The invitation seems to be in line with such a policy.
The three islands, plus Etorofu, were seized by the Soviet Red Army shortly after Japan's surrender in World War II on Aug. 15, 1945. The Japanese government has been seeking the return of the islands.
Tokyo has been calling on Japanese companies to refrain from engaging in any economic activities in the disputed islands.
The Japanese Consulate General in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk said the consul general's absence from the meeting is due to the ''irreconcilable'' stances between Japan and Russia.
Sakhalin Gov. Alexander Khoroshavin and other local executives are expected to attend the meeting, where reports on the region's sightseeing and aquafarming businesses will be presented with the aim of attracting investment.
The Russian side has also sent invitations to Japanese and South Korean companies.
