The Northern Territories Issue Association is promoting expansion at the expense of Russia’s Kuril Islands, the authorities have said
The Office of the Russian Prosecutor General has designated a Japanese association as ‘undesirable’ in the country, claiming it is involved in propaganda campaigns that promote revanchism with regard to Russia’s Kuril Islands.
The two countries never formally concluded a peace treaty after World War II, due to Japan’s claim to four islands which the Soviet Union captured during the war.
According to the authorities, the Northern Territories Issue Association has been advocating for Japan’s “cartographic expansion” at the expense of Kunashir, Shikotan, Iturup, and the islands of the Lesser Kuril chain – all of which are part of Russia. The organization is “involved in developing strategies for returning them under Japan’s sovereignty,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Monday.
The Russian authorities also accused the association of “sponsoring Japan’s nationwide movement to reclaim” the Kuril Islands (known in Japan as the Northern Territories), claiming its members are exploiting the issue and publicly refusing to recognize Russian jurisdiction over the islands.
Moscow and Tokyo have made little progress in reaching a final peace treaty over the last eight decades. In the San Francisco Treaty of 1951, Japan renounced its claims to the Kurils, but later argued that the islands in question are not part of the archipelago. Moscow maintains that the four islands are an integral part of Russian territory.
In Russia, being labeled ‘undesirable’ prohibits organizations from operating in the country and imposes legal consequences on residents and companies for financial or other interactions with them. The Russian Justice Ministry currently lists over 200, including major Western influence groups such as George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, the US-based German Marshall Fund, and the pro-NATO Atlantic Council.
