New light on the Russo-Japanese territorial dispute

Abstract

The territorial dispute between Japan and Russia, known as the 'Northern Territories' problem, is the biggest obstacle preventing the two nations from improving their relations. In 1994 an important and long-sealed document regarding this issue was found at the Australian Archives. Published not long after the end of World War II, this Japanese Government booklet might shed new light towards understanding the nature of this problem over the passage of a half century. The paper discusses the territorial problem, including the findings from the booklet, especially in the context of the shifting balance between the bilateral and multilateral dimensions of the problem. Show more