The Kuril Islands Dispute: A Legal and Historical Analysis as Seen from the Japanese Perspective

This article presents the Japanese legal and historical perspective on the Kuril Islands dispute. Undoubtedly, the conflict between Japan and Russia about this group of islands north of Hokkaidō is one of the most significant territorial issues in present-day international relations. Despite many attempts to find a middle ground, the dispute has not been resolved in over sixty-eight years. It also affects the diplomatic stalemate, namely the unsettled question of a peace treaty between Tokyo and Moscow. Successive Japanese cabinets have claimed that the southern part of the Kuril Islands (called the “Northern Territory” in Japanese) has been illegally occupied by Russia since the end of the Pacific War. To comprehend this statement and thus understand the Japanese position, it is necessary to analyse the Japanese arguments based on legal acts, historical documents, and research.Since the article only outlines the Japanese perspective on this matter, the geographical terminology used is from Japanese, in order to comprehensively introduce the position of that side.