October 19, 2016
On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the 1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on October 18 released a proposal regarding the Japan-Russia territorial issue.
Prior to this announcement, Shii held a talk with Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide in the Diet building and offered suggestions as to how the government should proceed with negotiations on the return of the Russian-held Chishima Archipelago during a Japan-Russia Summit meeting scheduled for the end of this year.
The proposal urges that the Japanese government sign no more than an interim agreement if it accepts the return of only two of the four islands of the Chishimas (Habomais and Shikotan) first, and that the government demand the invalidation of unjust provisions in the Yalta Agreement and San Francisco Treaty.
Shii said, “Concluding a peace treaty in the stage of the return of the only two islands will virtually close the door for Japan to further negotiate the reversion of the two other islands of Etorofu and Kunashiri, which will mean Japan’s complete submission to the former Soviet Union’s claim at the time of the 1956 bilateral communique.”
The territorial dispute between Japan and Russia stemmed from a disregard for the “territorial non-expansion” principle. During WWII, the Allied Forces decided on this principle as a major postwar measure. The 1943 Cairo Declaration was issued in accordance with this principle. However, the Soviet Union demanded the handover of the Chishima Archipelago as a precondition to its entry into war against Japan. Britain and the United States responded to this demand and thus inserted the provisions to this effect into the 1945 Yalta Agreement. Bounded by the Chishima’s transfer clause, the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty incorporates provisions stipulating Japan’s abandonment of the Chishimas.
Shii demanded that relevant countries go back to the postwar starting point of “territorial non-expansionism” and invalidate the unjust provisions, and told Suga that the government should negotiate on this point so that Japan can fairly claim and conclude a peace treaty supporting the return of the entire Chishimas.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga in response said, “We will seriously consider your proposal.”
Past related articles:
> Don’t seal a pact on the return of only Habomais and Shikotan: JCP Koike [October 12, 2016]
> Japanese gov’t should negotiate with Russia for return of ‘Northern Territories’ based on international law: JCP [February 8, 2016]
Prior to this announcement, Shii held a talk with Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide in the Diet building and offered suggestions as to how the government should proceed with negotiations on the return of the Russian-held Chishima Archipelago during a Japan-Russia Summit meeting scheduled for the end of this year.
The proposal urges that the Japanese government sign no more than an interim agreement if it accepts the return of only two of the four islands of the Chishimas (Habomais and Shikotan) first, and that the government demand the invalidation of unjust provisions in the Yalta Agreement and San Francisco Treaty.
Shii said, “Concluding a peace treaty in the stage of the return of the only two islands will virtually close the door for Japan to further negotiate the reversion of the two other islands of Etorofu and Kunashiri, which will mean Japan’s complete submission to the former Soviet Union’s claim at the time of the 1956 bilateral communique.”
The territorial dispute between Japan and Russia stemmed from a disregard for the “territorial non-expansion” principle. During WWII, the Allied Forces decided on this principle as a major postwar measure. The 1943 Cairo Declaration was issued in accordance with this principle. However, the Soviet Union demanded the handover of the Chishima Archipelago as a precondition to its entry into war against Japan. Britain and the United States responded to this demand and thus inserted the provisions to this effect into the 1945 Yalta Agreement. Bounded by the Chishima’s transfer clause, the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty incorporates provisions stipulating Japan’s abandonment of the Chishimas.
Shii demanded that relevant countries go back to the postwar starting point of “territorial non-expansionism” and invalidate the unjust provisions, and told Suga that the government should negotiate on this point so that Japan can fairly claim and conclude a peace treaty supporting the return of the entire Chishimas.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga in response said, “We will seriously consider your proposal.”
Past related articles:
> Don’t seal a pact on the return of only Habomais and Shikotan: JCP Koike [October 12, 2016]
> Japanese gov’t should negotiate with Russia for return of ‘Northern Territories’ based on international law: JCP [February 8, 2016]
