For the First Time Japanese Prime Minister Says Russia Illegally Occupying the Kuril Islands

This would be an interesting legal opinion to get on whether the Japanese pacifist constitution would allow them to conduct an offensive operation to reclaim land that was originally Japanese which is the case of the Kuril Islands. I doubt the Japanese would ever do such a thing though considering Russia’s nuclear arsenal:

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday during a House of Councillors committee session that the northern territories are being “occupied illegally by Russia.”

The government had avoided using such an expression to promote negotiations for a peace treaty that would address the northern territories issue, but has now changed its stance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to the Foreign Ministry, this is the first time a Japanese prime minister in the Diet has referred to an “illegal occupation” regarding the northern territories since 2009, when then Prime Minister Taro Aso used the expression. At that time, Russia criticized its use, saying it was an attempt to challenge Russia’s sovereignty.

Stars & Stripes

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