Russia To Japan

The Northern Territories comprise Kunashiri, Etorofu, Shikotan and the Habomai group of islets. The Soviet Union seized them days after Japan’s surrender in 1945.

The issue has long prevented the two sides from signing a post-war peace treaty. Moscow claims the islands were assigned to it by consent of the victors in World War II as part of the postwar settlement. A 1956 joint declaration states that Shikotan and the Habomai islet group would be transferred to Japan by the Soviet Union following the conclusion of a postwar peace treaty.