PM Kishida Says Japan Continues To Strive For World War II Peace Agreement With Russia

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. (Wikimedia Commons/)

JAKARTA - Tokyo remains committed to policies aimed at reaching a peace agreement with Moscow, nearly eight decades after the end of hostilities in 1945, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.

"It is unfortunate that at this time, 78 years after the war ended, the problem of the Northern Region (name given to the southern region of the Russian Kuril Islands in Japan) was still unresolved and there was no peace agreement between Japan and Russia," said PM Kishida, launching TASS on February 7.

"However, the government remains strongly committed to resolving territorial issues and making peace agreements (with Russia)," said PM Kishida.

PM Kishida added that relations between Japan and Russia were deteriorating due to a special Moscow operation in Ukraine which was launched in February 2022.

Meanwhile, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said Tokyo would continue to cooperate with the international community, especially the Group of Seven (G7), to impose more sanctions on Russia regarding the situation in Ukraine.

Japan imposed several packages of sanctions on Russia after Moscow launched a special military operation in Ukraine.

In response, Russia's Foreign Ministry announced Moscow was suspending peace agreement talks with Tokyo.

It is known, since the mid-20th century until the recent suspension, Moscow and Tokyo have held talks in a bid to finalize the peace agreement, as a follow-up to the fighting between the two countries at the end of World War II in August-September 1945.

However, the issue of the southern Kuril Islands remains a major issue in the negotiations. In 1945, the jurisdiction of the entire archipelago was given to the Soviet Union.

Tokyo, however, claims the islands of Itup, Kunashir and Shikotan, and a group of uninhabited islands. Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly stated that Moscow's sovereignty over the islands is contained in international law and cannot be questioned.