"Our country" "The Kuriles are our islands. Stay away, Japan!"
Photo: Vyacheslav Reutov
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Russia Objects to Japanese Schoolbooks
The Russian Foreign Ministry has criticized recommendations made by the Japanese Ministry of Education and Science to state in schoolbooks beginning in 2012 that the Southern Kurile Islands are part of Japanese territory that was illegally occupied by the Soviet Union and should be returned to Japan. Japanese maps have long depicted the “northern territories,” as the islands are referred to in Japanese, as part of Japan. The Russian Foreign Ministry mentioned that topic before the G8 summit in Hokkaido, but the Russian delegation ignored the maps that were displayed on the website for the event and on the walls of the facilities for the summit.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has decided to react calmly to the Japanese Education Ministry’s recommendations as well. The territorial dispute is practically the only problem in Russian-Japanese relations, which are otherwise burgeoning. Therefore, the Russian side has limited itself to an expression of disappointment at the unconstructive position of the Japanese government. Russia’s reaction is a sharp contrast to that of Seoul. Although South Korea’s Tokto Islands were not declared illegally occupied, calls for their return to Japan led South Korea to protest and recall its ambassador from Tokyo. Coast Guard patrols of the islands were also beefed up.
It is possible that the Japanese ministry was guided in its recommendations by the Japan Forum on International Relations. In a report entitled “Nature of the Russian State and Japan’s Strategy towards Russia,” the think tank authors advise the government to explain to the public more actively that Russia’s possession of the islands is unjust. The report also recommends bridling the development of economic relations with Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry hopes that that recommendation will not be followed.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of July 16, 2008
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