Context
In the latest version of a diplomatic report (2022 Diplomatic Bluebook), released recently, Japan describes four islands whose ownership it disputes with Moscow as “illegally occupied by Russia”.
2022 Diplomatic Bluebook
- The 2022 Diplomatic Bluebook is an annual report on Japan's foreign policy.
- This annual publication is issued by the Japan’s Foreign Ministry.
- First issue in: 1957.
The Contested ground
- The islands, home to rich fishing grounds, are known as the:
- Northern Territories in Japan
- Southern Kurils in Russia
- The islands have been a point of controversy between Japan and Russia for decades.
- Moscow took control of the islands after World War II in 1945.
- The Soviet Union, which declared war on Japan days before Emperor Hirohito announced his country’s surrender on August 15, 1945, seized the islands off the north-eastern coast of Hokkaido, expelled all 17,000 Japanese residents and has held the land ever since.
- The archipelago extends for 750 miles (1,200 km) from the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula (Russia) to the north-eastern corner of Hokkaido island (Japan) and separates the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean.
- The 56 islands cover 6,000 square miles (15,600 square km).
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Official position of both the nations:
- Japan: Japan’s official position is that the islands are an inherent part of its territory and are under illegal occupation.
- Russia: Russia insists that it owns the isles, which have been inhabited by its own citizens for generations.
