Kishida Meets Young Descendants of Northern Territory Islanders; Reaffirms Commitment to Resolving Ownership Dispute

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:00 JST, July 31, 2024

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with the fourth-generation descendants of former residents of the northern territories, who are junior high school students, on Tuesday at his office.

Kishida said, “The situation [of Russo-Japanese relations] is very tough, but the government’s determination to resolve the issue of the four islands’ ownership and concluding a peace treaty is unshaken.”

He also said the resumption of the four-island exchange program, including letting islanders’ descendants visit their family graves, “is one of our top priorities,” and that he would continue to urge the Russian side to engage in the program.