Japan intends to conclude a peace treaty with Russia despite the strained relations between the two countries, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stated.
"Japanese-Russian relations are in a difficult state, but our country will continue to pursue a resolution to the territorial issue and the signing of a peace treaty," Ishiba emphasized.
He had previously expressed this position during earlier addresses to the parliament. For instance, in November 2024, Ishiba reiterated that the Japanese government hopes to finalize a peace treaty with Russia and finally "resolve the issue of the Northern Territories."
A similar stance has been voiced by Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya.
Russia has indicated it will consider Japan's initiatives to resume dialogue only after Tokyo takes practical steps to abandon its unfriendly policies toward Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated. Moscow assumes that Japan still has politicians and public figures who understand the destructive nature of the anti-Russian course pursued by the current Japanese government, the statement emphasized.
State Duma Deputy Alexei Chepa noted that Russia could sign a peace treaty with Japan after reviewing its terms. Such a treaty would underscore good neighborly relations between the two nations, he believes.
"If a country expresses such an initiative, we need to examine the terms of the treaty. We never signed one because Japan always resisted, and we lived without an agreement. However, relations between countries should always be reinforced by international treaties," the politician said.
On January 10, it was reported that Japan imposed sanctions on three Russian banks, 29 legal entities, and 11 individuals. Among those targeted were Alrosa CEO Pavel Marynichev, TsMRBank Vice President Dmitry Nikulin, and Alexei Budnev, the owner of LLC Technology. The restrictions on financial institutions are set to take effect on February 9. Additionally, Japan banned the export of industrial-use capsaicin and 335 types of goods, including components for special equipment, compact motorcycles, and tools.
The peace treaty between Russia and Japan has remained unsigned for over 70 years. Tokyo has made the return of the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and Habomai a condition for the agreement. Moscow maintains that the Southern Kuril Islands became part of the USSR following World War II, and their sovereignty is not up for discussion.
After Japan supported anti-Russian sanctions related to Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine, Russia halted consultations with Tokyo on the peace treaty.
Relations between the Russian Federation and Japan are the continuation of the relationship of Japan with the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1991, and with the Russian Empire from 1855 to 1917. Historically, the two countries had cordial relations until a clash of territorial ambitions in the Manchuria region of northeastern China led to the Russo–Japanese War in 1904, ending in a Japanese victory which contributed to the weakening of the monarchy in Russia. Japan would later intervene in the Russian Civil War from 1918 until 1922, sending troops to the Russian Far East and Siberia. That was followed by border conflicts between the new Soviet Union and the Empire of Japan throughout the 1930s. The two countries signed a nonaggression pact in 1941, although the Soviet government declared war on Japan anyway in August 1945, invading the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo as well as seizing the Kuril chain of islands just north of Japan. The two countries ended their formal state of war with the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, but as of 2022 have not resolved this territorial dispute over ownership of the Kurils. Due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, relations became very tense after Japan imposed sanctions against Russia. Russia placed Japan on a list of "unfriendly countries", along with South Korea, European Union members, NATO members (except Turkey), Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Singapore, Taiwan, and Ukraine. Japan and Russia each expelled a number of diplomats and Russia halted peace negotiations with Japan that include talks on resolving the Kuril Islands dispute.
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