Territorial negotiations in which national interests collide will unavoidably take time to complete. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe must not be hasty, and he should tenaciously press Russian President Vladimir Putin to make concessions.
A Japan-Russia summit meeting has been held in Moscow. The two leaders have met with unusual frequency, including in November and December. Their latest meeting lasted about three hours, including almost one hour during which Abe and Putin held talks alone.
With regard to peace treaty talks that would include the northern territories issue, Abe and Putin agreed on a plan to seek a "mutually acceptable solution." However, no details of their discussions have been revealed yet.
At a joint press announcement after the talks, Abe said, "It is not easy to solve problems that have been left for at least 70 years since the end of the war." Putin also said "painstaking work" toward reaching a peace treaty lies ahead. Major differences remain between the opinions of both leaders, and the view that negotiations could become protracted is spreading.
In November 2018, both nations agreed that negotiations would proceed based on a 1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration specifying that two of the northern islands -- the Habomai group of islets and Shikotan Island -- would be handed back to Japan.
Upcoming negotiations must resolve a broad range of issues, including the demarcation of territorial lands and waters, the period for which Russia would retain administrative rights over the islands and the treatment of Russian residents living in the northern territories.
On this occasion, Abe and Putin instructed Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who are in charge of the treaty negotiations, to accelerate the talks. The foreign ministers will hold a second round in February.
Careful explanation needed
Lavrov has stuck to his one-sided argument that the four islands were "legally" incorporated into Russia as a result of World War II. His insistence on this point is unacceptable. Putin has an obligation to instruct Lavrov to sincerely engage in discussions.
Movements opposed to returning the islands have emerged in Russia. Putin also needs to persuade the Russian public to support the islands' handover.
It also cannot be said that public understanding of the northern territories issue has deepened in Japan.
The return of the islands will directly lead to an expansion of Japan's exclusive economic zone. Crafting a constructive relationship with Russia would also help to keep China in check. It is important that the government carefully explains these significant aspects.
During their talks, in order to strengthen ties, Abe and Putin agreed on a policy to boost the value of bilateral trade to about 1.5 times the current levels over the next few years to about 30 billion dollars. They set a goal of doubling the number of visitors to each other's countries by 2023.
Russia, which has been plagued by a sluggish economy, has high expectations for economic cooperation and private investment from Japan.
Japanese companies will, quite rightly, be cautious about investing in Russia during the current situation in which Moscow is becoming isolated from the international community due to issues including its annexation of Crimea. Russia must make efforts to ease tensions with the United States and European nations.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 24, 2019)
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