Kuril islands dispute

The absence of a peace treaty after WWII remains a major issue in Russian-Japanese relations. While no solution has yet been found, Moscow would be happy to call it a draw, President Vladimir Putin said.

Moscow said Tokyo is ignoring the outcome of World War II, after Japan’s official map for its upcoming 2020 Olympic Games marked the Russia-controlled Kuril Islands as its own territory.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has lodged an official protest with the Japanese embassy after Tokyo showed the South Kuril Islands – Russia’s sovereign territory – as Japanese in various media materials at the latest G20 summit.

Japanese lawmakers are determined to chase a fellow MP out of parliament after he suggested Tokyo could wage war on Russia over the Kuril Islands.

While Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vows to end a territorial dispute with Russia over a group of islands in the Pacific as soon as possible, Moscow says Tokyo is ‘distorting’ information on the talks to push its agenda.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have agreed to set up a framework to intensify peace treaty negotiations that were stalled decades ago, after Japan aligned militarily with the US.