History of The Northern Territories: Historical Background
History of The Northern Territories: Historical Background
History of The Northern Territories: Historical Background
Territories
Historical background
Establishment of the border
Campaign for the Reversion of the Northern Territories
Progress and status of the Northern Territories issue
Historical background
[17th century]
It is said that the Japanese known the northern islands 370 years ago.
Trade between these islands and Hokkaido existed long before then. According to
the "Shinra-no-kiroku," a historical chronicle of the Matsumae Clan, who
controlled Hokkaido in those days, the lord of Matsumae presented sea-otter skin
-- which he had received as a gift from the Ainu in the Menashi region* -- to the
Tokugawa shogunate in 1615.
Because sea otters do not live around the main island of Hokkaido, it is presumed
that the Ainu who lived on the northern islands were trading them with Hokkaido
residents.
On "Shoho Onkoku Ezu," a map of Japan made by the Tokugawa shogunate in
1644, there are 39 large and small islands northeast of the Shiretoko Peninsula
and Cape Nosappu. Thirty-four of them were named "Kunashiri," "Etorofu,"
"Urufu," etc.
Shoho Onkoku Ezu
[18th century]
Russia began to advance into Chishima (the Kuril Islands) in the early 18th
century. Although the Russians often sent expeditions parties for research and
hunted sea otters, they never went south of Uruppu Island, which is just north of
Etorofu. This was because the Edo shogunate controlled the islands south of
Etorofu and had guards statioed on those islands to prevent incursions by
foreigners.
Year Events
Matsumae Clan opens the Kunashiri trading zone.
1754 The clan sends merchant vessels to the zone, and their trade with the Ainu in
Akkeshi and Kunashiri prospers.
1786 Mogami Tokunai visits Etorofu to study the situation of Russians moving south.
The shogunate sends Kondo Juzo and others to Etorofu.
1798 Kondo's party puts up a sign stating "Dainihon Etorofu" (Etorofu, Great Japan) in
Tannemoi, Etorofu.
1799 The shogunate takes direct control of eastern Hokkaido, including the Northern
Territories.
Takataya Kahei opens the Etorofu route.
1800 Takataya Kahei opens 17 fishing grounds around Etorofu.
In 1811, Captain Golovnin and his crew, who stopped at Kunashiri during their
survey of the sea near Chishima, were captured by the Nambu Clan and sent to
Matsumae. Because Takataya Kahei was also captured by a Russian vessel near
Kunashiri in the following year, Japan and Russia entered into negotiations to
establish the border between the two countries in 1813.
Although the negotiations did not go smoothly, the Treaty of Commerce,
Navigation and Delimitation was concluded in 1855 and the border was
established between the islands of Etorofu and Uruppu. This border confirmed
that Japanese territory stretched south of Etorofu and Russian territory stretched
north of the Kurils (Chishima islands). Karafuto (Sakhalin) remained a place
where people from both countries could live.
(With the establishment of prefectures instead of feudal domains in 1871, these areas
were put under direct control of the Colonization Commission.)
Because the new Meiji government could not sufficiently cope with Russians
moving south in Sakhalin, the Treaty for the Exchange of Sakhalin for the Kuril
Islands was concluded in 1875 and 18 islands north of Uruppu which had
belonged to Russia were transferred to Japan.
In 1880, village offices were established on the islands of Shikotan, Kunashiri and
Etorofu under the new administrative system.
The main industry changed from hunting to fishing around 1885 and expanded to
include salmon, crab and other north-sea fisheries.
Road networks and post offices were established on Kunashiri and Etorofu. Life
on the islands became more stable when a regular sea route connecting the islands
with Hokkaido was opened and a telegraphic service began.
At the end of the Taisho era, towns and villages were organized in the Northern
Territories and village offices were established on each island. The Habomai
Islands were all part of the village of Habomai. The town and village system was
not adopted on islands north of Uruppu, which were under direct control of the
Nemuro subprefectural office of the Hokkaido government.
Each village had a district forestry office, a marine product examination center, a salmon
hatchery, a post office, a police station, an elementary school and other facilities. In 1930,
8,300 people lived on Kunashiri Island and 6,300 on Etorofu Island, and most of them
were engaged in fishing.
* Uruppu, Shimushiru and Shumushu districts on the Chishima Islands were under direct
control of the Nemuro subprefectural office of the Hokkaido government.
TOP
Portsmouth PeaceTreaty
Under the Portsmouth Peace Treaty
which ended the War between Japan
and Russia, Japan took over the
southern part of Sakhalin at 50 degrees
North Latitude from Russia.
TOP
The campaign for the reversion of the Northern Territories began when Ishisuke
Ando, then Mayor of Nemuro, submitted a petition stating that "islands south of
Etorofu have been Japanese territories since olden days and measures should be
taken for the residents to live peacefully on these islands," to General MacArthur,
the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers on December 1, 1945 (Contents
of the petition).This petition led to the formation of the Committee to Request the
Reversion of the Islands near Hokkaido in 1946 mainly by repatriates from the
islands and people in Nemuro.
Because the loss of the Northern Territories meant a loss of rich fishing grounds,
it greatly influenced the economy of Hokkaido. Many organizations for the
reversion of the Northern Territories were therefore formed and the reversion
campaign gradually expanded. These organizations included the League for the
Development of the North-Sea Fisheries in Hakodate and the League to Request
the Return of Karafuto and Chishima in Sapporo. Because the campaign of
individual organizations was not powerful enough, the League for the Return of
Chishima and Habomai Islands was formed in November 1950 so that
organizations and municipalities could join forces to appeal powerfully to the
whole nation and the rest of the world.The League was renamed the Japan League
for the Return of the Northern Territories Inc. in 1963. It has been striving to
influence public opinion by petitioning the national government and Diet, holding
gatherings of local residents, and presenting lectures and exhibitions on the
Northern Territories.
After the Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration, the cold war continued and no progress
was seen concerning the territorial issue after Prime Minister Khrushchev stated
that the Northern Territories issue had already been solved. The suggestion of
Kosygin at the regular conference between Japan and the Soviet Union in 1967,
however, led to the establishment of the "Special Committee on Okinawa and
Northern Issues" in both the House of Representatives and the House of
Councilors in March 1968.
The Japanese government established the Okinawa and Northern
Countermeasures Agency in May 1970 as an external organ of the Prime
Minister's Office to prepare measures for the return of Okinawa and facilitate
solutions to northern problems. The Northern Area Division of the Agency was
exclusively in charge of the Northern Territories issue.The Northern Territories
Affairs Administration was established on May 15, 1972 as a department of the
Prime Minister's Office (Management and Coordination Agency since July 1,
1984) to further consolidate measures in northern areas after the reversion of
Okinawa to Japanese sovereignty. The Director-General of Administrative Affairs
in the Prime Minister's Office was appointed the Executive Director and the
Deputy Director-General the Deputy Executive Director of the Headquarters.
Councilors and other full-time staff were positioned under the Deputy Executive
Director.
The Japanese government established the Interministerial Liaison Council
Concerning Northern Issues in 1968 to facilitate a solution to the Northern
Territories issue. The government has also held the Meeting of Prefectural
Directors in Charge of Northern Countermeasures since 1977 to increase
cooperation among prefectures other than Hokkaido concerning the reversion
campaign.
TOP
Mt.Chacha -Kunashiri
Progress and status of the Northern Territories issue
The Northern Territories issue began in September 1945 when the Soviet Army
illegally occupied the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai,
which were inherent Japanese territories.
As the difference of positions of the two countries did not provide any prospect to
reach an agreement on the territorial issue except with regard to Habomai and
Shikotan during the negotiation process, on 19 October 1956 Japan and the Soviet
Union signed the Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration to end the state of war and to
restore diplomatic and consular relations between the two countries, having
agreed to continue negotiations for the conclusion of a peace treaty which should
included the territorial issue, after the restoration of normal diplomatic relations
between Japan and the Soviet Union. In Article 9 of the Declaration, the two
countries agreed to continue negotiations for the conclusion of a peace treaty and
the Soviet Union agreed to hand over Habomai and Shikotan to Japan after the
conclusion of a peace treaty.
The Tokyo Declaration signed by Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa and
President Boris Yeltsin in 1993 mentioned each of the Four Islands of the
Northern Territories by name and defined the territorial issue as an issue of which
country these islands belong to. The Declaration set out clear negotiation
guidelines; Japan and Russia should conclude a peace treaty by resolving the
territorial issue (i) on the basis of historical and legal facts, (ii) based on the
documents to which both parties agreed, and (iii) on the principles of law and
justice.
In the Irkutsk Statement signed by Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and President
Vladimir Putin in 2001, both parties confirmed that the Japan-Soviet Joint
Declaration of 1956 was a basic legal document that established the starting point
in the negotiation process for the conclusion of a peace treaty, and based on this
confirmation, reaffirmed that a peace treaty should be concluded by resolving the
issue of which country the Four Islands of the Northern Territories belong to on
the basis of the Tokyo Declaration of 1993.
Prime Minister Koizumi and President Vladimir Putin adopted the Japan-Russia
Action Plan in January 2003 and confirmed their determination to conclude a
peace treaty as early as possible by resolving the issue of which country the Four
Islands of Northern Territories belong to, thereby fully normalizing the
relationship between the two countries.
At the summit meeting in June 2007, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President
Vladimir Putin reviewed progress in the implementation of the Japan-Russia
Action Plan of 2003 and shared the view that progress has successfully been made
in a number of fields. On top of that, they confirmed that negotiations for the
conclusion of a peace treaty were an important pillar of the Japan-Russia Action
Plan and agreed that both countries should continue to commit themselves to
making progress in negotiations for a peace treaty to resolve the territorial issue in
the future.
The Japanese government, while promoting co-operation with Russia in broad areas, is
engaged in vigorous negotiations with the Russian government under a consistent policy
of concluding a peace treaty at an early stage by resolving the attribution issue of the
Four Islands of the Northern Territories based on the previous agreements and
documents.
ИСТОРИЯ СЕВЕРНЫХ
ТЕРРИТОРИЙ
Исторические вехи.
Исторические Вехи
(17 век)
В 1644 году ставка сёгуна Японии составила “Карту владений императора
Сёхо”, на которой к северо-востоку от полуострова Сирэтоко и мыса Носаппу
было отмечено 39 крупных и малых островов, 34 из которых имели названия, в
том числе “Кунасири(о.Кунашир)”, “Эторохо(о.Итуруп)”, “Уруфу(о.Уруп)” и
т.д.
(18 век)
Это произошло благодаря тому, что сёгунат периода Эдо установил на о-ве
Эторофу(о.Итуруп) и на всех островах южнее Эторофу(о.Итуруп) сторожевые
посты, которые защищали от проникновения иностранцев, и таким образом
приняло эти острова под свою юрисдикцию.
Год Содержание
Учреждение ставки клана Мацумаэ на Кунасири(о.Кунашир).
1754
Направление торговых судов, начало активной торговли с айнами через
Аккэси и Кунасири(о.Кунашир).
Исследователь Могами Токунай доплыл до о-ва Эторофу(о.Итуруп),
1786
чтобы проверить до каких пределов русские продвинулись на юг.
Сёгунат направил на о-в Эторофу(о.Итуруп) исследователя Кондо
Дзюдзо.
1798
Там же, в месте Таннэмой, Кондо установил указатель с надписью
“Владения Великой Японии”.
Сёгунат установил прямой контроль над восточным Эдзо (Хоккайдо),
включая Северные территории.
1799
Судовладелец Такадая Кахэй открыл регулярное морское сообщение с
Эторофу(о.Итуруп).
Такадая Кахэй открыл вокруг Эторофу(о.Итуруп) 17 районов рыбного
1800
промысла.
Образовательный стенд: “Первопроходцы Северных территорий”.
Сяна Сэндай
Тисима (о-в Эторофу(о-в
Итуруп))
Фурубэцу Сага (впоследствии Сэндай)
(п.Куйбышево)
(п.Славное)
В 1885 году (первый год Ансэй) в г.Симода на полуострове Идзу был подписан
Японо-российский трактат о торговле и границах. В этом трактате впервые
была определена граница между Японией и Россией между о.Эторофу
(о.Итуруп) и о.Уруппу (о.Уруп). Стороны подтвердили, что японской
территорией определялись о.Эторофу (о.Итуруп) и острова Чисимские гряды
(Курильской гряды) южнее, а остров Уруппу(о.Уруп) и территории севернее
его – территорией России. Что касается Карафуто (Сахалина), чёткая
принадлежность его подверждена не была, он определялся территорией
смешанного проживания обоих народов.
Демаркация госдарственной границы
Начало движения за возвращение Северных территорий.
История и современное состояние
проблемы
Северных территорий
“СОВМЕСТНАЯ СОВЕТСКО-ЯПОНСКАЯ ДЕКЛАРАЦИЯ” И
ПОСЛЕДУЮЩИЕ ДЕЙСТВИЯ
Reversion campaign
Efforts are also being made to arouse public opinion outside Japan so that the
whole world will understand the validity of Japan's demand to restore the Northern
Territories to Japanese sovereignty, thus creating a good international environment for
the reversion.
Exchanges with Russia are also facilitated in the fields of culture, sports and business to
improve the environment for a solution to the territorial issue.
Dispatching a mission
Because many of former residents who have played a central role in the
reversion campaign are aging or have died, successors are being fostered by sending
delegations of second- and third-generation young people, holding seminars and
distributing teaching materials for elementary and junior high school students.
Since mutual visits based on the new system of visa-free exchanges, began in
April 1992, Russians living on the northern islands have developed an understanding of
the Northern Territories issue and Japanese people.
2. Cooperation with the Hokkaido Committee to Promote Exchanges with the Four
Northern Islands and the National Council to Promote Exchanges with the Four
Northern Islands.
No. of No. of No. of No. of visitors
visits visitors acceptances accepted
2008 6 260 13 215
Total from 1992 to
104 5,216 100 4,332
2008
To the homepage of the Hokkaido Committee to Promote Exchanges with the Four Northern Islands
Mini lesson on the Northern Territories -- What are exchanges without passports or
visas?
At first, persons eligible for exchanges without visas were designated as follows:
1.Former residents of the northern islands (including their children, grandchildren and
their spouses)
2.People involved in the campaign for the reversion of the Northern Territories
(including members of the Diet and local government assemblies and workers of
national and local governments)
3.Newspeople
4.Companions of people categorized in 1) to 3) (interpreters, doctors, secretariat
workers, etc.)
The system was revised by the agreement at a Cabinet meeting on April 17, 1998, to
include:
5.Specialists (of academic, cultural, social and other fields engaged in activities
contributing to the purpose of the visits)
The exchanges without passports or visas - Shikotan -
At the meeting of Japanese and Russian leaders in November 1998, free
visits by former islanders and their families to the northern islands were agreed to in
principle, and a basic agreement on the method for implementing free visits was made at
the meeting of Japanese and Russian Foreign Ministers in May 1999.
The first visit of ex-islanders was carried out in September 1999 based on this agreement,
and there are great expectations for future visits.
Graves in Kunashiri
To facilitate the development of the Nemuro region adjoining the Northern Territories,
the following measures are promoted:
Public works and other activities are promoted in one city and four towns in the
Nemuro district in accordance with the Sixth Plan Concerning the Promotion of the
Regions Adjoining the Northern Territories and the Stabilization of the Lives of Local
Citizens (five years from 2008 to 2012).
2. Project for the promotion of the region adjoining the Northern Territories
Subsidies are provided from the interest income of the Fund for the Promotion of
the Regions Adjoining the Northern Territories for projects conducted by one city and
four towns in the Nemuro district, as well as for public awareness promotion and support
projects conducted by related organizations.
The Hokkaido government not only supports the activities of former resident
organizations but also improves support measures for former residents in cooperation
with these organizations.
1. Realization of compensation for the old fishing rights in the northern area
The compensation problem concerning the old fishing rights in the northern area has not
been solved. Because the holders of the old fishing rights are aging, the national
government is required to provide compensation as soon as possible in cooperation with
the Committee to Promote Compensation for Lost Fishing Rights in the Northern Area.
Members
Location of graves Dates Bereav T
Companion
ed otal
Shyakotan and Inemoshiri on
July 22 to 24 24 10 29
Shikotan
3)In view of the fact that the territorial issue remains unsolved, the
Hokkaido government appeals to the national government to increase
support for former residents, including realizing visits to graves in the
Northern Territories and providing compensation for old fishing rights.
The Hokkaido government also promotes various measures for the
development of areas adjoining the Northern Territories (one city and four
towns in the Nemuro district) and stabilization of the lives of the local
residents in cooperation with the national government, taking into account
the special circumstances of those areas.