(1) Japan learned of the existence of the Four Northern Islands (Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Tomai Archipelago) earlier than Russia, and many Japanese traveled to the region and gradually established control over these islands. In 1855, the Treaty of Shimoda, signed in a completely peaceful and friendly manner between Japan and Russia, confirmed the then naturally established border between Etorofu and Urup Islands. Even after that, the four northern islands have never been a part of any foreign territory. (2) However, on August 9, 1945, at the end of World War II, the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan in violation of the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact, which was still in effect at the time, and occupied all four northern islands between August 28 and September 5 of that year, after Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration. At the time, there were no Soviet citizens on the four islands, and approximately 17,000 Japanese lived on the four islands as a whole, but the Soviet Union unilaterally “incorporated” the four islands into its territory in 1946, and by 1948 all Japanese were forcibly evicted. Since then, the islands have been illegally occupied by the Soviet Union and Russia to this day. (For more details, please refer to the “History of the Northern Territories Issue” page.) (3) Because of the existence of the Northern Territories issue, a peace treaty has not yet been concluded between Japan and Russia, despite the fact that more than 70 years have passed since the end of the war.
- What is the Northern Territories issue? ｜Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- History of the Northern Territories issue (to the outbreak of the territorial dispute)｜Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
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