Also, the Soviet Union did not sign the San Francisco treaty. New global guidance aims to stop greenwashing, How China might respond to a Taiwan visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Biden says he is 'doing well' after testing positive for COVID-19. Last December, the Japan Bank for International Cooperationpartneredwith banks in China (China Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of China) as well as Russia (Gazprombank, Sberbank and VEB) to finance the Arctic LNG 2 Project in Russias Gydan Peninsula on the Kara Sea, in the Arctic Ocean. This Bluebook will be released to the public before the end of April, but Kyodo News reporters have seen a leaked text. These included the freezing of Japan-based assets of three Russian banks, Bank Rossiya, Promsvyazbank and VEB (Russias development bank). This site, like many others, uses small files called cookies to help us improve and customize your experience. Each Bluebook over the past decadesnotesthat these small islands form the most outstanding issue in Japan-Russia relations.. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. Each year, Japans Foreign Ministryreleasesa Diplomatic Bluebook, a guide to the governments views on the world. The next day, Japan, in line with its fellow Group of Seven countries,announcedmeasures against Russia. Our plan is not to withdraw.. The classification will appear for the first time since 2003, reflecting Tokyos shift away from a conciliatory policy stance toward Moscow, taken in the hope that progress in negotiations over the islands off Hokkaido could lead to their return in the future, to a more hostile position. Japanese investment in the oilfields of Sakhalin 1 had beenintendedto reduce its crude-oil reliance on the Middle East (now 80% of Japans oil comes from the Persian Gulf region). It looks like you're using an ad blocker. The USSR agreed that it would hand over two of the four islands (Habomai and Shikotan) after the conclusion of a peace treaty between the two countries. If you're not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site. If Japan stopped importing LNG from Sakhalin 2, its bills would immediately go up by between$15 billonand$25 billion. He is a senior non-resident fellow atChongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1974. Russia is a small but important provider of crude oil (9%), coal (8.7%) and LNG (9%). Learn more about how we use cookies in our cookie policy. Whether Russia will stop exports to Japan or whether it will insist on the trade being denominated in rubles is to be seen (thus far, Russia has onlyinsistedthat payment for the gaseous form of national gas be made in rubles). Although by the terms of Article (2c) of the 1951 San Francisco treaty, Japan renounced all rights to the Kuril Islands, the treaty did not apply to the islands of Kunashiri, Etorofu, Shikotan and Habomai since they are not included in the Kuril Islands. Sponsored contents planned and edited by JT Media Enterprise Division. He is a writing fellow and chief correspondent at Globetrotter. He has written more than 20 books, includingThe Darker NationsandThe Poorer Nations. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software. Therefore, the disputed islands could not be considered part of the territories acquired by Japan "by violence and greed". The Yalta Agreement "did not determine the final settlement of the territorial problem, as it was no more than a statement by the then leaders of the Allied Powers as to principles of the postwar settlement. No such treaty was completed. The explicit language of the Yalta Agreement gave the Soviet Union a right to the Kurils, and the Soviet Union upheld its own obligations under that treaty. Kishidas hesitancy to walk away from Russian energy imports requires explanation. When this plant comes online, it will provide 19.8 million tons of LNG, twice the current production from Sakhalin 2.
To learn more see our FAQ, KDDI to pay compensation to millions of users after massive outage of au network, COVID vaccine passports to soon be printable at Japan convenience stores, In carbon markets we trust? Because of the proximity of Russias fuels, and thepriceof Russian gas on the spot market, the overall cost of Russian energy is much less than that of energy from the Gulf states. 2022 Covering geo-political news and current affairs across Asia. The Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration did not apply to the Northern Territories because those islands had never belonged to Russia even before 19041905. These small islands in the Sea of Okhotsk allow Russia to extend its territorial waters into the Pacific Ocean. If that were to happen, it would be a catastrophe. First, the Bluebook refers to Russian control over some islands north of Hokkaido as an illegal occupation., The last time the annual Bluebooks used this phrase was in 2003. In 1956, the USSR and Japan signed adeclarationthat promised to settle outstanding issues between the two countries. The previous prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin more than 20 times, but they were not able to make a breakthrough. A draft of the Diplomatic Bluebook for 2022 was obtained by Kyodo News. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name Your subscription plan doesn't allow commenting. The loss of these islands would be an issue not merely of prestige, but also of Russian commercial ambitions in its northern waters. These fuelscomefrom a range of countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for 58% of its crude oil, Australia for 65% of its coal, and Australia and Malaysia for 40% of its liquefied natural gas. But these are dangerous times, and it is impossible to guess exactly what comes next. (Territorial issues should be settled by a peace treaty.) The governmentsJapan Bank for International Cooperationhas large investments in Russian gas fields and gas pipelines (includingwith Russias sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund). This exposure will pose problems for its balance sheets. The long-standing dispute over the Northern Islands/Southern Kurils is in sharper focus amid the Ukraine war, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is facing rising tensions with Russia. """, "Russia and Japan Unlikely to Make 'Serious Progress' in Kuril Islands Dispute", "Putin, Abe to discuss development of bilateral cooperation Kremlin", "Why Russia and Japan Can't Solve the Kuril Islands Dispute", "Why Russia Won't Cede Southern Kuril Islands to Japan", "Russia says 'certainly not' to automatic return of disputed islands to Japan", "The Strategic Value of Territorial Islands from the Perspective of National Security Review of Island Studies", "What makes Japan cling to Russia's Kuril Islands? The Japan Times LTD. All rights reserved. Second, the 2006 Bluebookcalledthe islands inherently Japanese. This phrase has not been used since then but has reappeared in the 2022 draft Bluebook. To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.
The Kuril Islands Russo-Japanese Frontier in the Pacific. Photo: AFP.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see this support page. Russia had not previously claimed the disputed islands since it began diplomatic relations with Japan in 1855. Three of Japans principal banks Mizuho Bank, MUFG and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation have considerableexposureinside Russia, since they have provided long-term financing for oil and natural-gas projects; they are set to lose US$4.69 billion, 20% of these banks expected net annual profits. Japan imports most of its energy from countries other than Russia. In addition, Japans Finance Ministrysaidit would prevent the major Japanese banks from doing business with Russias largest financial institution, Sberbank. Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor and journalist. Four of the investors in Sakhalin 2 are Gazprom (the Russian energy company), Shell, and two Japanese firms (Mitsubishi and Mitsui). This project, Kishida said, will provide Japan with long-term, inexpensive, and stable LNG [liquefied natural gas] supplies., It is an extremely important project in terms of our energy security, he said. Kyodo News, a reputed Japanese wire service, reportsthat the 2022 Bluebook will have strong language against Russia. In 2019, itimported88% of its energy needs, mostly fossil fuels. Covering geo-political news and current affairs across Asia. The Japanese assertion that the disputed islands are not part of the Kurils is simply a tactic to bolster Japan's territorial claim and is not supported by history or geography. It is unlikely that these islands will draw the two countries into any kind of conflict beyond the sanctions that Japan has placed on Russian banks. Stephan, John J. Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. That is the reason Kishida has refused to cease energy imports from Russia. He is the chief editor ofLeftWord Booksand the director ofTricontinental: Institute for Social Research. Japans governmentownsa significant part of Sakhalin Oil and Gas Development Co (SODECO), which has built and manages the Sakhalin 1 and Sakhalin 2 projects. !? His latest book isWashington Bullets, with an introduction by Evo Morales Ayma. Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites. It is from these passages that Russias Pacific and Northern Fleets based in Fokino and Severomorsk respectively traverse the increasingly important Arctic waters and the northern waters of the Pacific (where Russia rubs shoulders with anincreasedNATO presence). This article was produced byGlobetrotter, which provided it to Asia Times. On February 24, as Russian forces entered Ukraine, Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa released astatementto condemn the action and to demand that Russian military forces return to their territory. Nonetheless, the 2003 Bluebooksaid, In the Four Northern Islands, the illegal occupation by the Soviet Union and Russia continues today.. 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Then, the Bluebook pointed out that Japan renounced its right to the Kuril Islands in the 1951Treaty of Peace with Japan, signed in San Francisco (Chapter II, Article 2[c]); these islands were then part of the USSR. ", The Soviet Union's 1945 entry into the war against Japan was a violation of the. About 60% of the 9.6 million tons of LNG produced by Sakhalin 2, located on Sakhalin Island (about 45 kilometers off the coast of Japan), isdeliveredto Japan. This page was last edited on 21 July 2022, at 03:02. We humbly apologize for the inconvenience. Any accidental clash between Japan and Russia would trigger Article V of the 1960 treaty that Japan signed with the United States. in the Profile section of your subscriber account page. Not long afterward, Japanagreedwith the European Union position to exclude seven major Russian banks (including the three already sanctioned by Japan) from the SWIFT system. With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. Japan calls these Four Northern Islands Etorofu, Habomai, Kunashiri and Shikotan; Russia calls the Southern Kurils Iturup, Khabomai, Kunashir and Shikotan, respectively. Russia inherited possession of the islands from the former Soviet Union, as its successor state, in accordance with international law. Submerged secrets: The hunt for Japans underwater ruins, Yuzuru Hanyu confirms end to illustrious 12-year senior career, Japan logs record 150,000 new COVID-19 cases as Tokyo and Osaka both top 20,000, Recently deceased yokozuna Wakanohana leaves mixed legacy, Japan's new COVID-19 cases top 186,000 as Tokyo reports record 31,878 infections. Furthermore, Japan is not bound by this document, to which it did not agree. These four other banks are Bank Otkritie, Novikombank, Sovcombank and VTB. ", Northern Territories Affairs Administration, The convoluted case of the coveted Kurils, Northern Territories dispute highlights flawed diplomacy, Akaha and Vassilieva, "Lessons for Improved Japan Russia Relations", Monterey Institute of International Studies, Little known facts in history of the dispute, Russian view on the history of the dispute, "Nemuro raid survivor longs for homeland", Japanese evacuation of Karafuto and the Kuril Islands, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kuril_Islands_dispute&oldid=1099497712, Articles containing Russian-language text, Articles with dead external links from September 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with dead external links from July 2022, Articles with dead external links from September 2012, Articles with Russian-language sources (ru), Articles containing Japanese-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2021, Articles with disputed statements from July 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Two startling changes appear in this draft text. Phrases such as illegal occupation and inherently Japanese in the Bluebook strongly suggest that the tensions between Japan and Russia will increase. Russia retaliated by placing Japan on itslistof unfriendly countries, whose diplomatic staff must be reduced and whose citizens will have a difficult time getting a visa into Russia. Japan will once again describe Russias decadeslong hold over a string of disputed islands off Hokkaido as an illegal occupation in an annual foreign policy report as bilateral ties sour following Moscows invasion of Ukraine. On March 31, as his government pledged to sanction Russian banks, Prime Minister KishidatoldJapans parliament, the Diet, that his government would remain involved with Russias Sakhalin 2 natural gas and oil project. The text that the news agency has seen has not been finally vetted by the government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.