The Kuril Islands (Chishima rettō 千島列島) are a long archipelago spanning the space between Hokkaido and the Kamchatka Peninsula. It is part of the indigenous Ainu people’s homeland. Even now, many of its toponyms derive from Ainu: Sikotan, Kunasir, Etuworopsir, and many more.
Along with massive neighboring Sakhalin, this archipelago has been the focus of many empires’ expansion in the region. The island chain was once entirely controlled by Japan. Japan ceded it to the Soviet Union following its defeat in the Second World War. However, the Japanese government has since claimed the southern Kuriles — the Northern Territories (Hoppō Ryōdo 北方領土)– as part of its territory, under the terms of the 1855 Treaty of Shimoda signed between the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Russian Empire. Though there’s been fits and starts of negotiation in the decades since, Japan and Russia remain effectively deadlocked on the islands’ fate.
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Japan has joined the worldwide wave of sanctions against the Russian government and Russian business. As a result, the southern Kuriles are again the site of renewed, heated rhetoric and action between Japan and Russia. Much has changed since the war’s start, and the stakes are higher than before. Even in the short time since I pitched this article, relevant developments continue to break. While the Nothern Territories dispute is old, the recent rapid changes in discourse and policy merit our analysis. Here’s what you need to get up to speed on the history and these developments.
Table of Contents
ToggleGetting to Know the Southern Kuriles since 1945
The Southern Kuriles are a group of 3 islands and 1 group of smaller islets, seen in the illustration below.

Etuworopsir (Etorofu) and Kunasir (Kunashiri) are the two larger islands. They are the most inhabited today under Russian administration. The Habomai islets are mostly uninhabited. Kaykarai Island (Kaigarajima 貝殻島/Ostrov Signalny Остров Сигнальный), is the closest in that group to Hokkaido. It lies about two miles from Cape Nosappu, the nearest point in Hokkaido, and can easily be seen from it.
Under Russian administration, the disputed islands are divided between part of Kurilsky district and all of Yuzhno-Kurilsky District. These districts belong to Sakhalin Oblast. These islands are generally regarded as part of the Kuriles. However, Japan’s position is that they are separate from the rest of the chain. Their basis for this claim, in the dispute since 1945, is the 1855 Treaty of Shimoda. This drew the boundary between Tokugawa Japan and the Russian Empire between the islands of Etuworopsir and Urup.
The Tokugawa Shogunate settled Japanese people here in its bid to colonize Ainu lands and better absorb them into Japan. After the Boshin War, the Meiji government further colonized the Ainu lands. It settled them with defeated samurai from the Tohoku region. Some of these samurai had previously supported the Tokugawa Shogunate’s coast defense mission in the area. The Shogunate had entrusted major Tohoku domains, particularly Sendai, Aizu, Akita, Nanbu, and Tsugaru, with oversight of those coasts, amidst the increased presence of Russian and American vessels.
Meiji to Showa
With the 1875 Treaty of Saint Petersburg, Japan and Russia exchanged territory in the Kuriles and Sakhalin. Interestingly, Enomoto Takeaki, once the Shogunate Navy’s commanding admiral who famously made the Boshin War’s last stand in Hokkaido, represented the Meiji government. The treaty drew the boundary between Auraito (Araidojima 頼度島/ Ostrov Atlasova Остров Атласова) and the Kamchatka Peninsula. And for the ensuing seven decades, all of the Kuriles were under Japanese control and colonization.
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However, World War II’s closing days saw the Soviet Union join the war and capture the entire island chain down to the Northern Territories. It annexed them in 1946 and deported its Japanese population to Hokkaido and elsewhere within the newly drawn postwar boundaries of Japan. They were replaced by settlers from elsewhere in the Soviet Union, along with an increased military presence along the new border.
But the story doesn’t end there.
A Stalled Peace
Inasmuch as the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 restored diplomatic relations between the two countries, as of this writing, neither has signed a formal peace treaty. While Japan dropped all claims to southern Sakhalin Islands – the former prefecture of Karafuto – the continued disputed status of the Southern Kuriles is an important sticking point that has rendered a peace treaty nigh-impossible, first with the Soviet Union and then with its successor state, the Russian Federation.
The Soviet Union, and then Russia, offered to cede Sikotan and the Habomai group as early as the signing of the 1956 Joint Declaration. However, it has never offered the same for Etuworopsir and Kunasir. To the Japanese government, which continues to assert the validity of the borders as drawn in the 1855 Treaty of Shimoda, this has always been unacceptable. Negotiation has nonetheless continued, off-and-on since 1956. There have been some concessions by Russia. These include an agreement to joint economic activity, permission for Japanese fishermen to fish in Russian-controlled waters. Russia has also allowed for freedom of travel for the families of former residents of the islands to come visit, especially for tending family graves.
Of course, there’s also been plenty of saber-rattling by both parties since 1945. Both sides of the Nemuro Strait have been significantly militarized. American military aircraft, both armed and unarmed, also frequently overflew the Kuriles during the Cold War. This was sometimes accidental, as in the case of Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253A, a charter flight carrying US troops bound for Vietnam, which was forced to land at Burevestnik Airbase on Etuworopsir after accidentally straying into Soviet-controlled airspace. The area was heavily militarized and restricted through the end of the Cold War, and this even resulted in the downing of civilian aircraft, most notably Korean Air Lines Flight 007 in 1983.
The situation since the start of the 2022 Russian war on Ukraine has significantly set back any hopes of an imminent peace.

Wartime Aid to Ukraine
As I write this, it’s only been a scant two weeks since the start of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But much has already changed in international politics, and even if the conflict is taking place on the other side of Eurasia, Japan itself has taken an active role in the international response.
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In an Unseen Japan article published 27 February 2022, I debunked a viral disinformation tweet about Japan’s ambassador to Ukraine, Matsuda Kuninori. I also touched on Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky’s outspoken advocacy in Japan for his country’s plight, whether or not attired in gusoku armor. And at last, on 4 March, Prime Minister Kishida announced that while Japan would not provide weapons to Ukraine, it would offer other types of military materiel. This includes helmets, tents, clothing, rations, and other nonlethal equipment from SDF stockpiles. Ambassador Korsunsky himself praised that “outstanding support” after meeting with Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki Shun’ichi. Per official confirmation from the Ministry of Defense’s Twitter presence, this aid was on its way to Ukraine late on the 8th.
Japan Ministry of Defense/Self-Defense Forces on X (formerly Twitter): “To deliver bulletproof vests and helmets to #Ukraine, KC-767 departed from Komaki Air base. JMOD/JSDF will continue to make every effort to assist Ukraine.For #Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/V74cPpTaby / X”
To deliver bulletproof vests and helmets to #Ukraine, KC-767 departed from Komaki Air base. JMOD/JSDF will continue to make every effort to assist Ukraine.For #Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/V74cPpTaby
The Sea of Okhotsk Heats Up
However, by that point it had already been several days since Japan joined the US and the rest of NATO and the G-7 in issuing sanctions against Russia. There had also been a steady escalation in incursions into Japanese airspace around the Sea of Okhotsk, a trend which, according to the SDF’s Japan Joint Staff, continues as of this writing.
Starting in February there have been major Russian military exercises in the Sea of Okhotsk, as well as joint Russian-Chinese military exercises in the Sea of Japan and the Pacific. Some media analysis suggests that this may have been intended to deter active Japanese participation in any NATO effort supporting Ukraine against Russia. The Russian military also alleges that a US Navy submarine shadowed their exercises before being chased away.
Meanwhile, on the 2nd of March, just before the announcement of aid to Ukraine, Russian aircraft overflew the Nemuro Peninsula. Later that day, Kōno Tarō, former Defense Minister and current Director of the Liberal Democratic Party Public Affairs Department, mentioned this in an English-language tweet. As of this writing, the overflights are still continuing.
KONO Taro on X (formerly Twitter): “A Russian helicopter violated our territorial airspace over Nemuro Peninsula this morning. / X”
A Russian helicopter violated our territorial airspace over Nemuro Peninsula this morning.
So far, none of this has deterred Japanese participation in global sanctions against Russia, nor has it stopped aid to Ukraine. And as a result, the Japanese government’s position on the Southern Kuriles has only grown more pointed.
More Pointed Rhetoric
On March 1st, Asahi Shinbun reported that the day prior, Uyama Hideki, Director-General of the European Affairs Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a meeting with the House of Councilors Budget Committee that “we recognize that the occupation of the Northern Territories and the present Russian invasion into Ukraine are both violations of international law.” The same day, in response to this, the Russian Embassy in Tokyo even caused a social media stir by saying that “for the second time within a century, Japan is supporting a Nazi government.”
駐日ロシア連邦大使館 on X (formerly Twitter): “これは、日本が行った侵略とナチスドイツとの同盟に対する処罰の一部でもありました。❗️にもかかわらず事実として、日本は100年も経たぬ間に二度もナチス政権を支持する挙に出ました。かつてはヒトラー政権を、そして今回はウクライナ政権を支持したのです。🎥https://t.co/S9G7YNMpTj / X”
これは、日本が行った侵略とナチスドイツとの同盟に対する処罰の一部でもありました。❗️にもかかわらず事実として、日本は100年も経たぬ間に二度もナチス政権を支持する挙に出ました。かつてはヒトラー政権を、そして今回はウクライナ政権を支持したのです。🎥https://t.co/S9G7YNMpTj
Following Japan’s joining of worldwide sanctions against Russia, and the increasing isolation of Russia from the world financial markets, the ruble began to collapse. In response, Russia placed Japan on its list of unfriendly countries on the 7th. This, too, has done nothing to dissuade the Kishida government from its course.
Bianna Golodryga on X (formerly Twitter): “The Kremlin has approved a list of countries who have been “unfriendly” to Russia. They include: Australia, UK, EU countries, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Korea, San Marino, Singapore, USA, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, Japan https://t.co/YQi2SPyYJb / X”
The Kremlin has approved a list of countries who have been “unfriendly” to Russia. They include: Australia, UK, EU countries, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Korea, San Marino, Singapore, USA, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, Japan https://t.co/YQi2SPyYJb
Indeed, on the 7th, in a statement to the House of Councilors Budget Committee, Prime Minister Kishida reiterated his government’s position that the southern Kuriles are part of Japan.
On March 9th as I wrote most of this, Putin declared the Kuriles a “special zone” excused of tax burdens for 20 years. In its coverage of the topic, Sankei News argues that this is aimed at attracting foreign and domestic investment and thereby strengthening Russian control in the area. As of 10 March, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno has already denounced this as “deplorable” and not being in line with prior Russo-Japanese joint economic agreements.
Conclusion
As we’ve seen, there have been plenty of prior incidents and periods of escalation in the long-frozen Kurile Islands dispute. But in the wake of the Russian war on Ukraine, and the sanctions imposed by the US, Japan, and many other countries, the stakes in any politically delicate matter involving Russia are higher. Only time will tell as to whether more negotiation is to come, or if the present escalation of tensions will otherwise continue.
Sources
- Howard Altman, Galina Tishchenko, Jim Heintz, et. al. “Navy disputes Russia’s claims that it chased a US sub out of its waters.” Navy Times, February 12, 2022. Accessed 9 March 2022.
- Anthony J. Blinken, “Japan’s Financial Sanctions against Russia: Press Statement.” US Department of State. Issued 27 February 2022. Accessed 9 March 2022.
- “The Destruction of Flight KAL007 and the Death of Representative Larry McDonald of Georgia.” United States House of Representatives History, Art, & Archives. Accessed 10 March 2022.
- Edgar Franz. Philipp Franz Von Siebold and Russian Policy and Action on Opening Japan to the West in the Middle of the Nineteenth Century. (Germany: IUDICIUM Verlag, 2005), pp. 84-89.
- “Helicopter believed to be Russian violates Japanese airspace.” NHK World – Japan, 2 March 2022. Accessed 9 March 2022.
- “Hoppō Ryōdo wa ‘Koyū no Ryōdo’: Kishida Shushō” 北方領土は「固有の領土」 岸田首相 Jiji Tsūshinsha, 7 March 2022. Accessed 10 March 2022.
- “Japan angered by Russia’s tariff-free zone on disputed islands.” Kyodo News, 10 March 2022. Accessed 10 March 2022.
- “Japan protests to Russia over missile exercise near disputed islands.” The Mainichi, February 7, 2022. Accessed 9 March 2022.
- “Japan scrambles fighters as suspected Russian military helicopter enters Hokkaido airspace.” The Japan Times, 2 March 2022. Accessed 9 March 2022.
- “Japan to provide bullet-proof vests, other goods to Ukraine.” Kyodo News, 4 March 2022. Accessed 9 March 2022.
- Eric Johnson. “How Russia quietly built up its military presence in Asia.” The Japan Times, 9 March 2022. Accessed 9 March 2022.
- “Karafuto, Chishima Kōkan Jōyaku” 樺太・千島交換条約. Kotobank.jp. Accessed 9 March 2022.
- Dzirhan Mahadzir, “Japanese MoD Voices Concern Over Russian Naval Exercises.” USNI News, 16 February 2022. Accessed 9 March 2022.
- “‘Nachisu Shiji shita’ zainichi Roshia Taishikan ga Nihon wo Chūshō, Tairo Seisai ni hanpatsu.” 「ナチス支持した」在日ロシア大使館が日本を中傷 対ロ制裁に反発 Asahi Shinbun, 1 March 2022. Accessed 9 March 2022.
- Seth Robson. “Japan, Russia feud on Twitter over Ukraine invasion, WWII-era territorial dispute.” Stars and Stripes, March 2, 2022. Accessed 9 March 2022.
- Noguchi Shin’ichi. Aizu-han. (Tokyo: Gendai Shokan, 2005), p. 194.
- “Northern Territories.” Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Accessed 9 March 2022.
- “Ro, Hoppō Ryōdo wo ‘tokku’ shitei; Nichiro Kankei, sara ni akka e” 露、北方領土を「特区」指定 日露関係、さらに悪化へ. The Sankei News, 9 March 2022. Accessed 9 March 2022.
- “U.S. Bids Moscow Return Troop Jet; Acts on the Interception in Kuriles of Craft With 214 on Way to Vietnam.” The New York Times, July 2, 1968. Accessed 10 March 2022.