Russo-Japanese Relations in the North Pacific

The Kuril Islands / Northern Territories Dispute

Location1

Overview of Contested Areas

Name - Russian Name - Japanese Size (KM²) Population

Iturup (Итуруп) Etorofu Island 3,200 6,000

Kunashir (Кунашир) Kunashiri Island 1,490 4,000

Shikotan (Шикотан) Shikotan Island 250 1,500

Habomai (острова Хабомаи) Habomai-Shotō 96 (Aggregate) 300

TOTAL

5,036 (32% of Total

Kuril Islands Surface

Area)

11,800

1 Image Copyright © the International Kuril Island Project (IKIP) [http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/ichthyology/okhotskia/ikip/Gallery/basemap.htm] (23.11.2010)

Cursory Briefing on Kuril Archipelago

Indigenous Population: Ainu; 24,000 Japanese reports Ainu Heritage

Location: Sakhalin Oblast, Russian Federation; Situated above Hokkaido Island/Adjacent to Sea of Okhotsk

Land Area: 15,590 KM² spread amongst 56 Islands

Length: 1,300

Climate: Temperate to Sub-Arctic

Flora and Fauna: Diverse terrestrial wildlife on southern islands; diverse marine wildlife throughout the archipelago.

Economy: Fishing is primary industry; Mineral deposits present, including gold, silver, zinc, tin, lead, copper etc.; no

petroleum potential.

Timeline of Events

17th

Century: Nominal control taken by Japan in the Edo period (1608 – 1868) by Tokugawa Shogunate

17th

Century: Reports of occasional Russian expeditions to Kuril Islands for research and sea otter hunting

1644: Partial rendition of Kuril Archipelago on “Shōhō Onkuko Ezu”, a map of Japan

1700: Vladimir Alastov (Explorer of Kamchatka) reports “seeing islands beyond the Kuril Strait”

1700: News first reaches Moscow of Japan’s proximity to Kuril Islands

1855: Signing of Shimoda Treaty also known as Treaty of Commerce, Navigation and Delimitation; Border between

Russian and Japanese Empires established between Etorofu and Urup

1875: Treaty of St. Petersburg is signed; Entire Kuril Archipelago is transferred to Japanese Sovereignty; All of Sakhalin

given to Russian Empire; Establishment of historical and legal precedent pertaining to Japanese territorial integrity

1905: Portsmouth Treaty is signed; End of Russo-Japanese War; Return of Sakhalin (south of 50th

parallel) to Japan

1939: Begin of Second World War

1941: Soviet Union concludes neutrality pact with Japan, which is to last for 5 Years

1943: Cairo Declaration is made regarding Japanese territorial acquisitions obtained through acts of war

February 1945: Yalta Conference held to determine post-war reorganization of Europe

August 1945: Potsdam Proclamation detailing territorial area of post-war Japan

August 1945: Soviet Union declares war on Japan; War lasts for a total of six days

August 29th

, 1945: Etorofu occupied

September 1st

, 1945: Kunashiri Occupied

September 2nd

: Signing of the Instrument of Surrender, Official capitulation of the Empire of Japan to the Allied Powers

September 1st

to 4th

, 1945: Occupation of Habomai-Shotō and Shikotan

September 20th

, 1945: Approval of an Ordinance by the Supreme Soviet to incorporate South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands

February 25th

, 1947: Kuril Islands formally incorporated into Soviet Constitution and designated an “integral component

of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist”

1951/52: Signing of the Treaty of Peace with Japan by 48 nations; the Soviet Union was not party

1956: Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration signed, which makes provisional allowance for transfer of Shikotan and

Habomai- Shotō

Literature MACK, Andrew & O’HARE Martin: Moscow-Tokyo and the Northern Territories Dispute, Asian Survey, Vol. 30, No. 4 (April 1990), pp. 380-394

NJOROGE Lawrence M.: The Japan-Soviet Union Territorial Dispute: An Appraisal, Asian Survey, Vol. 25, No. 5 (May, 1985), pp. 499-511

LENSEN, George Alexander: Early Russo-Japanese Relations, The Far Eastern Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Nov., 1950), pp. 2-37

ELLEMAN, Bruce A., NICHOLS, Michaels R. & OUIMET, Matthew J.: A Historical Re-evaluation of America’s Role in the Kuril Islands Dispute, Pacific

Affairs, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Winter 1998-1999), pp. 489-504

WILLIAMS, Brad: Resolving the Russo-Japanese Territorial Dispute: Hokkaido-Sakhalin Relations, Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies Series,

Routledge Milton Park, 2007

FERGUSON, Joseph P.: Japanese-Russian Relations, 1907-2007, Routledge Milton Park, 2008