Is there any possibility that Russia will modify its obstinate position? The government must determine its strategy for negotiations over the northern territories issue, by looking carefully at Moscow's attitude.
Foreign Minister Taro Kono and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, met in Munich and held a second round of talks on a peace treaty. While they were in agreement on Lavrov's early visit to Japan, no marked progress is believed to have been made over the northern territories issue.
Following the talks, Kono told reporters that the dispute cannot be resolved in a short period of time but that Japan will make strenuous efforts to achieve the goal. Meanwhile, Lavrov said at a press conference that Russia has not set any deadline for the negotiations. The prospect of negotiations extending over a long period of time has emerged.
Not to be overlooked is that Lavrov has continued making an unreasonable assertion: that Japan should recognize that the four islands legally became Russia's territories as a result of World War II.
By saying this, Lavrov distorts the historical fact that the former Soviet Union, entering the war by unilaterally breaking the Japan-Soviet Neutrality Treaty in the closing phase of the war, occupied the four islands illegally. We cannot avoid harboring doubts that Russia is earnestly willing to conclude a peace treaty.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last September called on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe "to conclude a peace treaty, without any preconditions attached, within the year." In the wake of Putin's expressed eagerness to conclude the treaty at an early date, both countries aimed at accelerating negotiations.
During the summit talks in November, both countries 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 over to Japan.
Advance negotiations
Nevertheless, Russia has repeatedly put forward unproductive arguments since the outset of negotiations. This is hard to comprehend, even if it is accepted that Moscow feels a need to take into account a possible backlash at home over the return of the territories.
The government has drawn up a strategy of resolving the territorial issue by promoting cooperation in a broad range of such fields as energy, medicine and urban development. It intends to expand human exchanges. It should steadily amass results so that both countries are able to enjoy the benefits.
It is important for Japan to tenaciously urge Russia to make concessions in the negotiations on the northern territories while striving to make improvements to the environment for talks.
The task of practically applying finishing touches to resolve various challenges should be advanced, such as the demarcation of territorial land and waters, the timing of the return of the islands, and ways to deal with Russian residents on the islands.
During the foreign ministerial talks, Kono and Lavrov also agreed that vice foreign ministers from both countries will hold a strategic dialogue and that the two countries will hold vice-ministerial level security talks.
Amid antagonism between the United States and Russia, the possible impact from the invalidation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty also needs to be addressed.
It is necessary that Japan and Russia, while confirming the importance of maintaining the nuclear disarmament system through multilayered dialogue, should at the same time advance confidence-building efforts.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 20, 2019)
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