Japan urges Russia to settle territorial dispute, calling it a ‘top priority’

TOKYO — Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Feb. 7 called on Russia to allow former Japanese residents to visit ancestral graves on disputed islands off Hokkaido, labeling the request a "top priority" despite relations strained by the war in Ukraine.

Speaking at a rally in Tokyo, Takaichi characterized the visits for aging residents as a "humanitarian issue." The event was held to galvanize public support for the return of the islands.

The territorial dispute has prevented Japan and Russia from signing a peace treaty to formally end World War II. Japan maintains that the Soviet Union illegally seized the "Northern Territories"—comprising Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai island group—following Japan's 1945 surrender.

Russia refers to the islands as the South Kurils and maintains that its seizure of the territory was legal.

The outlook for renewed negotiations remains bleak following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Japan has since joined the United States and other nations in imposing sanctions on Moscow.

The long-frozen dispute over the Kuril Islands, known in Tokyo as the Northern Territories, has entered a period of renewed volatility driven by the current geopolitical climate. Japan’s alignment with Western-led sanctions against Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine has effectively scuttled any prospects for a near-term diplomatic resolution. Recent rhetoric from Prime Minister Takaichi, while framed in "humanitarian" terms, functions as a pointed reassertion of Japanese sovereignty on the annual "Northern Territories Day."

For observers in Southeast Asia, Tokyo’s sharpened stance offers a familiar resonance. Japan’s characterization of the Russian presence as an "illegal occupation" spanning nearly 80 years mirrors the legal and diplomatic language used by nations such as Vietnam and the Philippines when confronting Beijing’s maritime claims in the South China Sea. This rhetoric reinforces a fundamental regional principle: opposition to the unilateral alteration of the status quo by force.

However, the situation presents a complex strategic calculus for Hanoi. Vietnam stands to benefit from a more assertive Japan that is willing to challenge the expansionism of major powers. Yet, Russia remains a critical historical partner and a primary provider of defense procurement for the Vietnamese military. Consequently, while the Japan-Russia dispute remains geographically distant, its underlying drivers—sovereignty, historical grievances, and the maneuvering of great powers—are the same forces defining Vietnam’s own strategic landscape.