Tokyo Says Measures Taken By Russia On Fishing Off Kuril Islands 'Unacceptable'

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th January, 2023) Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Monday that Russia's refusal to hold intergovernmental consultations over marine fishing in the area of the southern Kuril Islands was "unacceptable."

On January 29, Moscow informed Tokyo that it could not agree on the holding of intergovernmental consultations on marine fishing cooperation in the area of the southern Kuril Islands due to a number of measures taken by the Japanese government against Russia.

"We cannot accept the response by Russia. But we continue to urge Russia to come back to the negotiating table with us," Matsuno told a press conference.

Earlier in the day, Takako Suzuki, a lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, called the issue of marine fishing in the Kuril Islands "a matter of life and death for Japanese fishermen."

Russia and Japan have been locked in a dispute over the four southernmost Kuril Islands (Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and Habomai) as the two countries never signed a permanent peace treaty following World War II. Japan has refused to give up its sovereignty claims to the four islands, which it refers to as its Northern Territories.

Moscow and Tokyo have tried to negotiate separate aspects of their disagreements, but never signed a full post-war peace treaty.

In March 2022, Russia withdrew from talks with Japan on signing a post-World War II peace treaty, and halted visa-free travel for Japanese citizens to the southern Kuril Islands and joint economic activities on the disputed islands. The move was due to Tokyo's "unfriendly" steps over the Ukraine conflict, Moscow said.

In June, Moscow suspended the 1998 agreement on fishing with Tokyo, after Japan stopped fulfilling its financial obligations under the deal. The Japanese government said it regretted Russia's decision and would like to continue consultations.

Last week, the Japanese Embassy in Moscow told Sputnik that Japan continued to insist on holding talks with Russia on allowing Japanese boats to fish off the Kuril Islands after receiving a notification that Moscow could not set the dates for consultations on the relevant agreement suspended by the Russian authorities in 2022.