The Northern Territories are an inherent part of the territory of Japan, without ever being a part of other countries’territory.
Nevertheless, up to the present time, Russia has continued to occupy the Northern Territories, which the Soviet Union occupied in 1945, without any legal grounds.
The Japanese government is firmly determined to push foreward with diplomatic negotiations with the Russian government, under a consistent policy of concluding a peace treaty through the resolution of the issue of the attribution of the four islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai.

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