Russian man warned over remarks on disputed islands off Hokkaido

TOKYO (Kyodo) — A Russian man residing on one of the four Russia-controlled, Japan-claimed islands has received a warning from judicial authorities due to his remarks on the sovereignty of the islets carried by a major Japanese newspaper.

According to the administrative warning issued on March 5 by a Russian court, the man residing on Kunashiri Island asserted that the four disputed islands should be returned to Japan, Kyodo News learned Wednesday.

However, the Asahi Shimbun article, published in the daily’s online edition in January 2022, shows that this allegation does not align with what he reportedly said.

The man was quoted in the article as saying, “The four islands of the Northern Territories had long and certainly belonged to Japan before World War II.”

He opposed the idea of their partial return to Japan as it could cause conflicts over Kunashiri and Etorofu, the two largest islands, over which he said Japan’s claims hold some legitimacy, and possibly lead to war, according to the news article.

The islands off Japan’s Hokkaido are collectively known to the Japanese as the Northern Territories and to the Russians as the Southern Kurils. They include the two smaller islands of Shikotan and the Habomai group.

Russia’s Federal Security Service had been investigating the man since the article came out, claiming his remarks violated the law.

The case demonstrates the extent to which Russia’s security authorities monitor the Japanese media and coincides with a broader pattern of increasing suppression of freedom of speech in the country as it continues to wage war against Ukraine.

Since the Ukraine invasion began in February 2022, bilateral relations between Japan and Russia have deteriorated as Tokyo has responded by imposing sanctions against Moscow in line with those taken by the United States and European countries.

The court decision says the man’s remarks were perceived as advocating for cession of Russian territory to a foreign country, threatening territorial contiguity.

But the court added that since it was the first time for the man to break the law, it gave him a warning instead of imprisonment with labor or fines.

The man told Kyodo News that while the Asahi article was accurate, he will not appeal the court decision.

Japan has maintained its position that the then Soviet Union illegally seized the four islands soon after the Japanese surrender in World War II on Aug. 15, 1945, while Russia argues its annexation was legitimate.

In 1956, Japan and the Soviet Union signed a joint declaration in which the Soviets agreed to return Habomai and Shikotan upon the conclusion of a peace treaty, which remains elusive.