The mayor of the Kuril region (Iturup) in Sakhalin Vadim Rokotov on Thursday, March 11, criticized the calls of the Japanese political scientist Akio Kawatao to block the straits between Russia and Japan.
“Japanese, retired diplomat. The statement is stupid – how to block it? Should we declare war? Who will risk it … Well, the missile systems on Iturup will “kill” any blockage in a matter of seconds. And about long work and not rushing, and so on – this is clear to us for a long time. They will not retreat, but we will not give it up, “RIA Novosti quotes Rokotov.
As the editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine Igor Korotchenko told the agency, the idea of blocking the southern Kuriles is unrealizable due to the fact that the current Russian legislation and the military potential of Moscow will not allow Tokyo to implement these intentions.
“From a practical point of view, the reasoning of the retired Japanese diplomat is absolutely meaningless – the amendments to the Russian constitution have forever consolidated the status of the southern Kuriles as an integral part of the territory of the Russian Federation. All arguments like “let’s wait for a convenient moment, and then present territorial claims” or “create public opinion within Russia for the secession of the Kuriles and their transfer to Japan” are unscientific fiction and will not be realized, ”Korotchenko explained.
The expert called on the Japanese side to abandon territorial claims against Moscow in order to develop relations with Russia.
Akio Kawatao worked for a long time at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, he was three times on business trips at the embassies in the USSR and Russia. As a visiting professor, the political scientist teaches at the University of Tokyo and Waseda University.
On February 15, Anton Morozov, a member of the State Duma’s international affairs committee, said that Japan should conclude a peace treaty with Russia without any preconditions. General Secretary of the Japanese Cabinet of Ministers Katsunobu Kato said that Japan intends to persist in seeking a solution to the territorial issue with Russia.
On February 7, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that the absence of a peace treaty with Russia and the unresolved issue of the “northern territories,” as Japan calls the Russian islands of Kunashir, Shikotan, Iturup and a number of territories of the Lesser Kuril ridge, are deeply regrettable.