Edano views disputed islands off Hokkaido+

NEMURO, Japan, Feb. 19 Kyodo -
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano viewed disputed northern Pacific islands
held by Russia from the air Saturday and expressed his eagerness to seek a
breakthrough in the territorial row between Japan and Russia.
Edano, who doubles as minister in charge of Northern Territories issues, took
in an aerial view of the islands off Hokkaido aboard a Japan Coast Guard
airplane. The Cabinet Office said he is the first incumbent top government
spokesman to view them.
''I'm sure Japanese people will show more interest in and raise their voices on
the territorial issue once they realize that the islands lie very close to
them, as I just did,'' Edano told reporters afterward.
''I hope negotiations (with Russia) will make substantial progress in a calm
environment,'' he said, adding that Tokyo remains firm in its position that the
islands belong to Japan.
His trip came as the spat over the islands has spiked due to a series of visits
there by top Russian officials, including President Dmitry Medvedev, which
started last fall. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan earlier this month
described Medvedev's trip to one of the four islands in November as an
''unforgivable outrage.''
On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement criticizing
Edano's comments, saying that conducting negotiations in a quiet environment
was contradictory.
Moscow has increasingly shown a hardline stance despite Japan's claim that the
islands are an integral part of its territory.
After his viewing, Edano met in Nemuro with former residents of the disputed
islands who asked for the row to be resolved as former islanders are growing
old.
Edano responded, ''We will think of ways to hand down the thoughts of former
islanders to children and help give a boost to diplomatic negotiations.''
The islands -- Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group -- are
known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia.
The Soviets' seizure of them after Japan's surrender in World War II has
prevented the two nations from signing a postwar peace treaty.
==Kyodo
2011-02-19 23:20:48