A Japan Self Defense Force helicopter crew looks out at the devastated shoreline at Cali, on the west coast of Indonesia's island of Sumatra, during an aid flight Sunday Jan. 30, 2005. Japan has approximately 1000 personnel assigned to the tsunami relief effort in Thailand and Indonesia.
Photo: AP
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Appetite Comes with Eating
The upper chamber of Japan’s parliament has passed resolution, claiming from Russia contested northern territories to add to the South Kuril Islands.
It is the belonging of contested northern territories, including Kunashira, Iturupa, Shicotana, Habomai, that have entailed queries, the Echo of Moscow reported. Japan is evidently eyeing the North Kuril Islands as well, but the wording of the parliamentary resolution is far from being clear and no definite comments have been given.
Sources with Japan’s parliament claim the phrase of the northern territories belonging was entered into the resolution to win unanimous support for the document. Communists in Japan parliament call for return of the whole Kuril Islands, up to Kamchatka. The document, which has been timed to the 150th anniversary of Russian-Japan’s relations, says the countries shall endeavor to build up partnership, but the process is hindered by unsolved territorial issues. Though 60 years have passed since the end of the war, the parties have failed to conclude a peace treaty, agree on the northern territories.
Before the upper chamber, the resolution was approved by the lower chamber of Japan’s parliament.
On January 12, 2005, Nobutaka Machimura, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, declared Japan insists on returning the four Kuril islands. The statement was made before Machimura departed to Moscow.
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia and Japan have not yet reached understanding of the 1956-yr agreements. Russia is ready to fulfill intergovernmental agreements with Japan to such extent, as Japan is ready to fulfill them, Putin said when commenting on the statement made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov concerning the Soviet-Japan’s Declaration of 1956.
Sergey Lavrov told NTV channel November 14, 2004 that as the Soviet Union's successor, Russia's commitments include Declaration of 1956. It was ratified by the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union and suggested returning two southern islands to Japan and dropping the curtain, i.e. drawing borders and concluding a peace treaty, Lavrov said.
However, two islands are not enough for Japan. The new approach has been shaped in the wake of the declaration sealed in 1993 during Japan’s visit of Boris Yeltsin, then Russia’s president. The Declaration of 1993 sets forth belonging of four islands as the subject of negotiations.
In August of 2002, Japan's Foreign Minister Yorico Kawaguti inspected the South Kuril islands from the helicopter, in a move to manifest Japan’s will to stick to the territorial claims against Russia, despite officially announced intentions to strengthen ties with Moscow. 18 years ago, a similar demonstrative action was carried out by Kawaguti’s predecessor in the office of the foreign minister.
www.kommersant.com
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