By agreement between Russia's Sakhalin Regional Administration and a number of Japanese organizations, a Sakhalin Region presentation in Tokyo was scheduled for November 17-19 this year, anticipating that it would introduce Japanese official, business, political and public circles to the region's potential and contribute to the development of beneficial (economic and trade) cooperation of this constituent entity of the Federation with partners in Japan.

In the course of preparing for the presentation the Japanese side notified the regional administration of an actual refusal to grant Japan entry visas to Russian citizen members of the business community who reside in the municipalities South Kuril City District and Kurilsky District of the Sakhalin Region and planned to take part in this presentation, as well as signaling the impossibility of their entry on a visa-free basis under the procedures provided for in the existing intergovernmental arrangements for Russian citizens living in the Southern Kurile Islands.

Concurrently it also signaled reluctance to allow Russian citizens who have businesses in those territories, although not registered there, to visit Japan for participation in the presentation.

To "justify" its approach the Japanese side referred to the difficulty of having any economic ties with the Southern Kuriles so long as the Russian side "continues to claim that they are a territory of Russia." There were also allegations that some enterprises operating in the Southern Kuriles hold a "tough stance on a peace treaty," which supposedly "complicates the situation" around this problem.

In this connection the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Sakhalin Regional Administration told the Japanese side that the position taken by Tokyo not only is essentially unacceptable as it casts doubt on Russia's sovereignty over the Southern Kurile Islands, but also hampers the promotion of ties between the Southern Kuriles and Japan, including the development of meaningful economic cooperation. It was stressed that the approach chosen by the Japanese side in this case is contrary to the Japanese leadership's statements of an intention to comprehensively develop relations with Russia as a partner in the Asia-Pacific region.

Given the stand taken by the Japanese side, the Russian side has decided to postpone holding the Sakhalin Region presentation in Japan.

We expect that Tokyo will responsibly and thoroughly investigate the resultant situation, and in the future take action which would open the way for full-blooded cooperation in the Southern Kurile Islands as an important component of exchanges between the Sakhalin Region and Japan and of Japanese-Russian relations in general.

November 10, 2009