Russia sees no reason to discuss the possibility of signing a long-awaited peace treaty with Japan to formally end World War II because of Tokyo's unfriendly stance towards Moscow, a Kremlin spokesman said last week, quoted by Reuters.
“No, there are no contacts with the Japanese authorities at the moment“, Dmitry Peskov told reporters in response to a question about a Japanese Foreign Ministry document saying Tokyo remained committed to signing a treaty. “You know that Tokyo hastened to fully join all unfriendly and hostile steps towards our country“, Peskov added, referring to Japan's decision to join Western sanctions against Russia. According to the spokesman, given the "real state of affairs" and Japanese sanctions against Moscow, "it is hardly possible to talk about the possibility of any negotiations."
Russia, the successor state of the Soviet Union, and Japan have never signed a formal agreement to end hostilities after World War II, Reuters reports. At the end of the war, Soviet troops took control of four islands not far from the Japanese island of Hokkaido. The islands, which Russia calls the Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories, are under Moscow's control to this day, and the territorial dispute has hindered progress in negotiating a peace agreement.
Japan has said that while its relations with Russia are complicated, it intends to conclude a peace treaty with its neighbor to resolve the dispute over the so-called Northern Territories, the magazine writes. “Newsweek“. Japan's Foreign Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to a peace treaty with Russia in the latest edition of a diplomatic document for 2025, published last week.
The latest version of the “Diplomatic Bluebook” - an annual report on Japan's foreign policy - states that the Northern Territories issue remains “the most serious issue” for the country regarding its bilateral relations with Russia.
„In addition, Japan has lodged a protest with Russia regarding Russian actions to increase its military presence, including military exercises, on and around the four northern islands and in the adjacent waters, which it considers unacceptable and contrary to Japan's position on these islands“, the "Diplomatic Blue Book“ also states.
Nevertheless, the Japanese government “remains committed to the policy of resolving the issue of the Northern Territories and concluding a peace treaty“, the document states.
However, the Russian Foreign Ministry refuses to negotiate with Japan on the issue “against the backdrop of the measures taken by Japan“ in connection with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia suspended peace talks with Japan after Tokyo imposed sanctions on Moscow after the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, recalls „Newsweek“.
The Russian side also announced last Monday that it had banned a Japanese group calling for the return of the disputed archipelago annexed by Moscow at the end of World War II, the „Japan Times“ reports.
The Russian Prosecutor General's Office said it had declared the Tokyo-based Association for Northern Territories Affairs “undesirable“, accusing the group of „wanting to rewrite history and encroach on Russia's sovereignty“.
The association was established in 2003 and is the main Japanese advocacy group for the return of the islands, the newspaper said. It provides educational materials for children about the dispute, using a mascot named "Erika-chan." The organization's designation as "undesirable" means anyone working for it or collaborating with it in Russia could face prosecution. Russia has already banned another group, the League of Residents of Chishima and Habomai Islands, which organizes annual trips to the archipelago for former residents.
The "Blue Book" published by the Japanese government states that Japan considers it a priority to resume humanitarian exchanges with the southern Kuril Islands, especially visits to the graves of the ancestors of former Japanese residents of these territories.
Moscow and Tokyo have been negotiating a peace agreement since the middle of the last century, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports.
The main obstacle to reaching an agreement remains disagreements over rights to a group of islands in the southern Kuril Islands. After the war, the entire archipelago was incorporated into the Soviet Union, but Japan disputes Russia's ownership of the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and a group of small uninhabited islands. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stressed that Russian sovereignty over these territories "is indisputable."
Progress in resolving the dispute has stalled, as Japan has recently taken economic initiatives to rebuild Ukraine that Moscow does not like, the Moscow Times reported. In February 2024, the Japanese government hosted the Japan-Ukraine conference to promote economic growth and reconstruction. The conference, organized by the Japanese and Ukrainian governments, can be seen as a clear sign of Japan’s geopolitical priorities to support the status quo in Europe, the newspaper said.
Furthermore, Japan’s efforts to lead efforts to rebuild Ukraine are a clear sign that its priorities are linked to its cooperation with the United States and the European Union, it added.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, its military cooperation with China has intensified, said Michael Corbin of the Department of Russian and East European Studies at Ohio State University. Japan sees the growing military cooperation between the two countries as an unprecedented threat, as it could find itself isolated in the region. As a result, it continues to try to demonstrate its commitment to the status quo in terms of support for international law and sovereignty, he notes.
While the Japanese elite would like to continue to rely on the stability offered by the military alliance with the United States and South Korea, it understands that the new American administration may no longer share the same interests in the region, Corbyn said. Moreover, relations with South Korea are not always stable, and as a result, the alliance with the United States does not always work well, he added.
This requires Japan to continue to seek opportunities for cooperation with Russia that are in its interest, Corbyn believes. Although relations between the two countries are at their lowest point since the end of World War II and are unlikely to change in the short term (especially while Russia is still at war with Ukraine), it is in the interests of both Russia and Japan to foster bilateral relations, even if they are not entirely friendly, through business, cultural and other exchanges, he said.