Russia's Kurils Delegation Arrives In Japan Under Joint Economic Activities Plan - Reports

A delegation of officials from Russia's Sakhalin region and residents of the Kunashir island have arrived in Japan under a visa-free exchange program in line with agreed plans to conduct joint Russian-Japanese economic activities in the disputed Southern Kurils, local media reported on Monday

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2019) A delegation of officials from Russia's Sakhalin region and residents of the Kunashir island have arrived in Japan under a visa-free exchange program in line with agreed plans to conduct joint Russian-Japanese economic activities in the disputed Southern Kurils, local media reported on Monday.

The Russian delegation has arrived at the Nemuro port of the Hokkaido island and will remain in Japan until August 23, if weather permits, to examine the Japanese incinerator and recycling facilities in a bid to advance waste reduction in the Southern Kurils, which is one of the items on the bilateral cooperation agenda, the Kyodo news agency reported.

In December 2016, Russia and Japan reached an agreement on the possibility of conducting joint economic activities on the Russian islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai � known together as the Southern Kuril islands �� upon which Tokyo extends territorial claims.

Japan insists on establishing a "special regime" for these activities in legal terms that would prevent either side from feeling violated in its sovereignty.

Russia and Japan have yet to sign a permanent peace treaty after the end of World War II. The dispute over the Kuril Islands � referred to as the Southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan � has been one of the main stumbling blocks in the peace talks.

In 1992, Moscow and Tokyo reached an intergovernmental agreement on establishing visa-free entry between residents of the Southern Kurils and Japan in a bid to enhance bilateral relations between the two nations and advance the conclusion of a peace treaty.

Tokyo hopes that developing economic cooperation with Russia will ultimately help resolve the territorial dispute and conclude a peace treaty. Moscow's official position is that the Southern Kurils became part of the Soviet Union after World War II and, therefore, Russia's sovereignty over these territories is grounded in international law and is beyond dispute.