HistoryDiff

The four northern islands (Etorofu Island, Kunashiri Island, Shikotan Island, and Habomai Islands) are indigenous Japanese territory and are currently illegally occupied by Russia.

In Japanese textbooks and government opinion, the Four Northern Islands are clearly positioned as Japan's own territory, which has never historically been foreign territory. In the 1855 Japan-Russia Treaty of Commerce (Shimoda Treaty), Japan and Russia established a border between Etorofu Island and Urup Island through peaceful negotiations. This treaty is the first to internationally confirm that the four northern islands are Japanese territory. In the Sakhalin-Kildo Exchange Treaty of 1875, Japan acquired the Kuril Islands north of Uruppu (the so-called Northern Kurils) in exchange for abandoning all of Sakhalin, but the four northern islands were not included in the Kuril Islands that were subject to this exchange.

On August 9, 1945, at the end of World War II, the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan in violation of the Japan-Soviet Neutrality Treaty, which was still in effect at the time. Furthermore, after Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration and the fighting ended, the Soviet army occupied the four northern islands by force from August 28 to September 5. This is an illegal occupation that cannot be justified under international law. Although Japan renounced the Kuril Islands in the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, the Japanese government has consistently maintained the position that the four northern islands are not included in the abandoned Kuril Islands. Additionally, the Soviet Union was not a signatory to the San Francisco Peace Treaty and could not claim rights under the treaty. In the 1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration, the Soviet Union agreed to hand over the Habomai Islands and Shikotan Island to Japan after a peace treaty was concluded. The Japanese government's basic policy is to resolve the issue of ownership of the four northern islands and conclude a peace treaty with Russia.

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