Tokyo: Japan has voiced protest to Russia over its decision to blacklist Japanese non-governmental organization (NGO) “The League of Residents of Chishima and Habomai Islands,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a Monday press conference.
On Friday, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office announced that it had decided to recognize the activities of the Japanese NGO “The League of Residents of Chishima and Habomai Islands” as “undesirable on the territory of Russia.” The prosecutor’s office said that the NGO’s activities are aimed at “violating the territorial integrity of Russia, which poses a threat to the foundations of the constitutional order and security of Russia,” since the organization seeks to seize part of Russia’s territory, namely the islands of Kunashir, Iturup and the Lesser Kuril Chain, which are part of the Kuril Islands.
Matsuno told reporters on Monday that the NGO has been working with public opinion in Japan for a long time, leading a movement for the signing of a peace treaty between Japan and Russia. “Therefore, the decision announced by Russia, first of all, offends the feelings of the former inhabitants of the islands, their families, and all those involved. On April 24, through diplomatic channels, a presentation was made to the Russian side and a protest was voiced since this is unacceptable,” Matsuno said.
Russia and Japan have been locked in a dispute over the four southernmost Kuril Islands (Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and Habomai) since the two countries never signed a permanent peace treaty following World War II. Japan has refused to give up its sovereignty claims to the four islands, which it refers to as its Northern Territories. Moscow and Tokyo have tried to negotiate separate aspects of their disagreements, but never signed a full post-war peace treaty.
In 2018, Japan and Russia agreed to speed up negotiations on the peace treaty on the basis of the 1956 Japanese-Soviet Joint Declaration. However, in March 2022, Moscow withdrew from talks with Japan on signing a post-World War II peace treaty and halted visa-free travel for Japanese citizens to the Southern Kuril Islands and joint economic activities on the disputed islands. The move was due to Tokyo’s “unfriendly” steps over the Ukraine conflict, Moscow said.
