Japan's Aso to press for isles' return from Russia
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-02-07 16:47

Japanese politicians including Foreign Minister Taro Aso vowed on Tuesday to renew efforts to secure the return of four windswept North Pacific islands at the centre of a decades-old dispute with Russia.

The dispute over the islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan and Southern Kuriles in Russia, has prevented Moscow and Tokyo from signing a peace treaty more than 60 years after the end of World War Two.

"There is still a large gap in the positions of the two countries on the Northern Territories issue, but it is clear that having such a reality continue does not match the interests of Japan and Russia," Aso told a rally in a hall in central Tokyo.

Yuriko Koike, minister in charge of Northern Territories Affairs, said she would make efforts to further raise public awareness about the issue.

For the second straight year, however, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi skipped the annual Northern Territories Day event co-organised by the government to support the cause.

The four islands, as close as 15 km (9 miles) from Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island, were seized by the Soviet Union after it declared war on Japan on August 8, 1945, forcing about 17,000 Japanese residents to flee.

As the politicians spoke, Nationalist groups gathered outside the Russian embassy, demanding the return of the islands.

Some demonstrators wearing military-like uniforms tussled with the police as dozens of trucks equipped with loud speakers blared out anti-Russian slogans.

Most people in the islands -- Shikotan, Kunashiri, Etorofu and the Habomai group of islets -- depend on fishing for their livelihood and Japan, a major fish consumer, would gain rich fishing grounds if the islands were returned. The territories are also close to oil and gas production regions of Russia.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Tomohiko Taniguchi said he wasn't aware of the reason for Koizumi's absence this year, but added that the ministry remained committed to the territorial issue.

"The Foreign Ministry has always thought of the Northern Territories issue as the biggest issue lying between Japan and Russia. We are paying deep interest in the issue," he said.

No quick solution to the dispute is in sight, and a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Koizumi late last year achieved no major breakthroughs.

At the November summit meeting in Tokyo, Putin and Koizumi agreed to expand economic ties between their two countries while seeking ways to resolve the deadlocked territorial feud.

Japan is also engaged in a long-running row with China over a group of southern islands claimed by both nations.