Japanese Government Denounces Lawmaker's Remarks About Waging 'War' on Russia for Kurils
The Japanese government has condemned the remarks made by a Japanese opposition lawmaker about potentially waging a "war" on Russia to take back the disputed Kuril islands and stressed that Tokyo was determined to settle the dispute through diplomacy
TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2019) The Japanese government has condemned the remarks made by a Japanese opposition lawmaker about potentially waging a "war" on Russia to take back the disputed Kuril islands and stressed that Tokyo was determined to settle the dispute through diplomacy.
The controversial remarks were made by Hodaka Maruyama of Nippon Ishin no Kai last weekend when he was having a meeting with people who had lived on the Kurils before it became a part of then-Soviet Union in 1945. Maruyama, who admitted to have drunk a little too much, asked one of the residents whether he supported war as a means of winning back the archipelago.
"This is truly regrettable. There have been no changes to the government's line to resolve the problem through diplomatic negotiations," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, as quoted by the Kyodo news agency.
The chief cabinet secretary added that Maruyama's words were unlikely to have an impact on the ongoing peace talks between Moscow and Tokyo.
"The remarks, if they were indeed made, in no way corresponds with the government's stance, consequently, we do not think that they can affect talks with Russia," Suga said.
The politician himself has promptly apologized for his remarks, which he described as extremely inappropriate, according to the NHK broadcaster.
The dispute over the group of four Kuril islands � Habomai, Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan � has been souring Russian-Japanese relations since the end of World War II and serves as the main stumbling block to signing a permanent peace treaty.
The territories are governed by Russia, which considers the islands an integral part of its territory. Japan also claims sovereignty over the archipelago, which it calls the Northern Territories.
Russia and Japan are currently holding consultations to sign a permanent peace treaty but the two sides have so far failed to find a solution to the Kuril islands dispute.