Japan govt adopts doc stating S Kurils illegally occupied by RF.

20/11 Tass 117

TOKYO, November 20 (Itar-Tass) - The Japanese government approved a
document on Friday in which it is said again that the Southern Kurils are
under "illegal occupation of the Russian Federation."

It was adopted at a
meeting of the cabinet in response to an official request of the chairman
of the foreign affairs commission of the parliament's lower house, Muneo
Suzuki.
The parliamentarian made it because Finance Minister Seiji Maehara
during a trip to the north of the Hokkaido Island on October 17 stated
that the Southern Kurils are Japan's original territory that is illegally
occupied by Russia. "Historically, the Northern Territories are an
integral part of Japan. It is literally illegal occupation (by Russia) and
Japan should keep saying so," Maehara told reporters on that day after
viewing from the sea Russian-held islands that are claimed by Japan, Kyodo
news reported.
Before boarding a Japan Coast Guard boat, Maehara also viewed the
islands -- Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group - from
Cape Nosappu in the city of Nemuro. Maehara, also land, infrastructure,
transport and tourism minister, arrived in Nemuro and met with former
residents of the islands and Hokkaido Gov. Harumi Takahashi. In the
meeting, the residents called on the government to get the islands
returned soon, while Maehara said he intends to visit them after next
spring, according to the agency.
Chairman of the parliamentary commission Suzuki has several times
sharply denounced such statements of a leading official of the cabinet.
"It is not the display of the right understanding of the situation, such
words send a wrong signal, it is a senseless blow-out," Suzuki said, in
particular, in a recent interview to Itar-Tass.
It is said in an answer to the parliamentarian's appeal, in
particular, that the four northern islands, as the Southern Kurils are
named in Japan, "are illegally occupied by the Russian Federation." Thus
the current cabinet that was formed just in September after the victory of
the earlier opposition Democratic Party at the general elections in the
country, backed the words of Maehara and confirmed the long formulated
position of Tokyo on this issue. The previous Japanese governments also
invariably named the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the
currently uninhabited Habomai chain the "integral part" of their country.
"If the islands' Japanese ownership is confirmed," says the adopted
document, "we will flexibly approach the timeframe, form and conditions of
the islands' return." It also corresponds to the position of the former
governments to which Tokyo holds since the late 1990s.
The dispute over the islands has prevented Japan and Russia from
concluding a peace treaty to formally end hostilities from World War II.
Japan refers to the disputed islands as its Northern Territories while
Russia governs them as the Southern Kurils. Earlier this year, Japan's
parliament passed a bill to declare that the islands are an integral part
of Japan, with then Prime Minister Taro Aso also calling Russia's
occupation illegal, igniting a backlash from Russia, according to Kyodo.
Earlier this month, Muneo Suzuki called for economic cooperation with
Russia in the Southern Kurils area - both at sea and on the land. "We have
agreed to advance towards the territorial issue settlement," the
parliamentarian said. "Until its final settlement it is possible and I
believe, it is necessary to develop economic cooperation in the zone of
the islands - both at sea and on the land. I think that Prime Minister
Yukio Hatoyama shares this view," he stated.
At present Tokyo officially opposes any economic contacts with the
Southern Kurils apprehending that they can indirectly confirm Russia's
sovereignty there. It is event prohibited to Japanese citizens to freely
travel to these islands, because this requires visas. Only the system of
visa-free exchanges is working, but the exchanges have a rather limited
framework and are not spread to the economic relations.
In the late 1990s, Moscow and Tokyo agreed to hold consultations on
the joint industrial activity on the Southern Kurils, staring, in
particular, from cooperation in the seafood reproduction sphere. However,
this dialogue yielded no result. In late October, Russian Deputy Foreign
Minister Alexei Borodavkin told Itar-Tass in Tokyo that Moscow supports
the idea of joint economic activities in the Southern Kurils. "We are
ready to search for the acceptable for both sides legal registration of
such projects that would not damage the positions of the two countries on
the territorial problem," the diplomat said. "Such projects could create
an atmosphere of trust, cooperation and partnership not only in this
region, but on the whole between our states. This would also contribute to
the settlement of the issue on the signing of a peace treaty. If the
Japanese side is ready to meet us halfway on this track we are ready to
proceed to the practical work," the RF deputy foreign minister noted.
-0-ezh/ast