Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2024 February 7 - 13 [POLITICS]

JCP continues to be committed to return of all Chishima Islands to Japan

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Kami Tomoko on February 7 attended an assembly, which was co-hosted by the Cabinet Office, calling for the return of the Russian-held northern territories to Japan.

On behalf of the JCP, Kami expressed her determination to continue to be committed to the return of the entire chain of the Chishima Islands, including Etorofu and Kunashiri, to Japan.

The JCP criticizes the Putin-led Russian government for shelving negotiations with Japan on concluding a peace treaty which deals with the longstanding territorial dispute. It also criticizes Russia for claiming that a “territorial dispute does not exist” between the two countries. The JCP argues that the unfair handling of post-war dispositions was rendered under the San Fransisco Treaty and the Yalta Agreement in violation of the principle of “non-territorial expansion”, and states that this “should be corrected.”

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio delivered a speech to the assembly and said, “Japan will work to settle the territorial issue and adhere to a plan to conclude a Japan-Russia peace treaty,” as he said last year. He, however, did not say that Japan will carry forward with negotiations.