THE NORTHERN TERRITORIES DISPUTE BETWEEN JAPAN AND THE SOVIET UNION: FROM RIVALRY TO RAPPROCHEMENT by John Patrick Clements Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geography APPROVED: delete el Dr. Robert W. Morrill, Dr. erard Toal Chairman Te &e (Sue ton. <b Yaounfar ev” . Dr. Burton I. Kaufman — W. Luke May, 1990 Blacksburg, Virginia jer,RE See? Sloss V ASS IS9e CH 6 Cad THE NORTHERN TERRITORIES DISPUTE BETWEEN JAPAN AND THE SOVIET UNION: FROM RIVALRY TO RAPPROCHEMENT by John Patrick Clements Committee Chairman: Robert W. Morrill Geography (ABSTRACT) A restrained relationship between the Soviet Union and Japan, great military and economic powers and geographically close neighbors in Northeast Asia, is an international ano- maly of considerable magnitude. Resolution of this anomaly has been delayed for the last forty-five years by several factors, but none more so than that of what has commonly been referred to as the "Northern Territories" dispute. The territorial dispute of the Northern Territories, otherwise known as the four islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai group is discussed in relation to both the historical and contemporary policies of Japan and the USSR. According to the Soviet’s perspective these islands belong to them on the basis of their military annex- ation in 1945. Japan fails to recognize this sovereignty, hence, leaving Japan and the USSR in a technical state of war, impeding normal Soviet-Japanese relations. Presently, Gorbachev’s policy of Perestroika has indi- cated the possibility of concessions and rapprochement over the islands after forty-five years of consistent deadlock. This new Soviet policy is aimed at improving relations with Japan and moving toward more economic and political cooper- ation, allowing the Soviets to participate in the economic prosperity of the Pacific Basin. However, Japan refuses to comply with such concessions, and demands Soviet recognition of the territorial issue prior to negotiations. Further- more, opposition toward such conciliation exists in the USSR since any concession might lead China and other nations to press their own territorial claims. Thus, the political, economic and strategic implications of the Northern Territo- ries problem ensures that it will remain a critical contem- porary geopolitical issue in Northeast Asia. DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my family and all my good friends in the Graduate Department of Geography at Virginia Tech. Without their love, friendship, support, patience and understanding I could not have made it through the trials and tribulations of graduate school nor completed this the- sis. I would also like to dedicate this thesis to Dr. Rob- ert W. Morrill. He is a fine teacher and an excellent department head, who taught me much more than geography. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people I would like to thank for their contributions in the research and writing of this thesis. First, I wish to give special thanks to Dr. Robert W. Morrill, my advisor and friend. As chairman of this thesis committee, his guidance, assistance, availability and sup- port were absolutely invaluable. His patience and encouragement throughout every step of the thesis pro- cess was greatly appreciated. His contributions were great. I would also like to recognize Dr. Gerard Toal for his expertise and continual efforts to push me to my limits and beyond. His suggestions certainly added to the depth and breadth of this work. Thanks must also be accorded to the two other members of my thesis committee. Both Dr. Burton I. Kaufman’s historical perspective and Dr. Timothy W. Luke’s knowledge of international policy analysis made this a truly interdisciplinary work. I would also like to give special thanks to several other people who made this thesis possible. Yoshiko Arima, an official from the Japanese Embassy in Washington D.C., spent the better part of an afternoon obtaining the latest offi- cial information on Soviet-Japanese relations over the Northern Territories dispute. Thanks must also go to some of my fellow graduate students. My appreciation must go to Alan Moore for his map design and construction. Barb Hale spent one very long and tedious day typing in a pleth- ora of bibliography entires and therefore also deserves acknowledgement. Thanks to Patricia Mahoney who helped me to organize a set of thesis revisions in order that I met a thesis committee deadline. I also want to express gratitude to Loretta Bush for all the computer and word processing assistance and patience she gave this computer illiterate. Without her expertise I would have been lucky just to suc- cessfully turn on the darn computer. I also owe a great deal to Ted Deakin and Joel Furr, two great guys form the Public Administration Department, who stayed up to the wee hours of the morning assisting me in the printing of the final copy of this thesis. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT e « e e e e e e * e e e ¢ 2 e oe * s * ® e e ° e DEDICATION e e » s e e s s e es ° e a e e e e -@ ° e °* e « ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . 2. 2. © © «© «© © © © © «© © © © © © © «@ Chapter page I. HISTORY OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORIES DISPUTE ... Introduction to the Northern Territories Dispute . Geography of the Kuriles a Discovery and Exploration ...... +... «6 -» Early Russian Descents from the North ...... Early Japanese Approaches from the South..... Formation of a Russo-Japanese Frontier 1750-1875 . Japanese Rule 1875-1945 . 2. « « «© © « «© «© « « The Kuriles at War 1941-45 ....... o 8 Soviet Annexation and Treaty Making 1941- 51 o 8 The 1955-56 Peace Negotiations . ......... Territorial Issue Remains Unchanged in the 1960’s The Issue Becomes More Complicated ........ Soviet-Japanese Impasse ... ee oe 2 Military Build-up of Northern Territories 1978-85 II. JAPANESE AND SOVIET PERSPECTIVES . 2. «© «© « «© « 45 Japan’s Geographic and Historical Claims ..... 45 Japan’s Treaty and Legal Claims ......... 48 The Fisheries Factor . ..... +... « © « « « « 57 Soviet Geographic and Historical Claims ..... 59 Soviet Treaty and Legal Claims .......... 60 Perpetuation of the Status Quo .......e..e... 63 Japanese Revanchism .....« «6 © « «© «© © ee @ 65 Soviet Economic Dimensions ....... « « « « « 66 Soviet Strategic and Security Concerns ...... 68 III. GORBACHEV’S PERESTROIKA IN THE ASIAN-PACIFIC REGION 72 Gorbachev’s New Thinking in Foreign Policy . o 73 Reassement of Pre-Gorbachev Policies in the APR . 81 Gorbachev’s New Initiatives in the APR ...... 87 The Gandhi Banquet Speech of May 1985 ...... 89 90 The July 1986 Vladivostok Speech ...... e ® The November 1986 New Delhi Address .... 95 Economic Perestroika . ... «2. «© «© © « « 96 The July 1987 Merdeka Interview. ...... 99 The September 1988 Krasnoyarsk Speech .. 101 Conclusions on Gorbachev’s APR Policy ..... 105 vii Iv. SOVIET-JAPANESE RELATIONS AND THE NORTHERN TERRITORIES DISPUTE IN THE GORBACHEV ERA . 112 Soviet-Japanese Relations Prior to 1985. 112 Soviet-Japanese Relations in the Gorbachev Era 116 Differing Perceptions and National Goals .. 118 The Northern Territories Dispute and Gorbachev 122 Vv. THE NORTHERN TERRITORIES DISPUTE: A CASE OF RAPPROCHEMENT . .. .- oe 8 8 © © © ee ww 152 The Gorbachev Factor . - ee we we thle ll 154 The Japan Factor . 2. 2. «© «© « © © © 8 « -» 158 Economic Factors .. 2. 2. « «e «© © © «© « « « 161 Geopolitical Factors . os ee ee ew el 168 Conclusions For The Future... - we ew . 180 BI BLIOGRAPHY e ° ry e ° . e e e e e e 187 Appendix A e FIGURES AND TABLES s e * e e e * e Cf e ° . e B. GEOGRAPHY OF THE KURILE ISLANDS .....e.-- Cc. TREATIES AND AGREEMENTS . 8 © we ew ew le ll D. VITA ..... vill LIST OF MAPS Japanese View of Northeast Asia ......... 4197 The Northern Territories Claimed by Japan .... 198 Soviet View of the Kuril Islands eo 2 we ew ew ew hel he) (C99 The Northern Territories: Isles of Negotiation . 200 Russo-Japanese Frontier 1875-1945 ........ 201 Soviet Naval and Military Aircraft Movements Around Japan e e e e e s e e s e e es es @ es e ° * e e e 202 Soviet Forces and Facilities in the Northern Territories . .... 6 «© « « © « « « «© « « « 203 Soviet Naval Outlets in Northeast Asia ...... 204 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 1. Russian and Japanese Place-Names in the Kuril Islands e ° e * e 2 e s e s e s e s eo °° od e e e 206 2. Major Japanese Irredentist Groups and Claims to the Northern Territories ..... +... ... 207 3. Gorbachev's Fundamental Principles ........ 208 4. Key Elements of Gorbachev's Perestroika in the Asian- Pacific Region ....... +... « «© « « « « « 209 5. Significant Soviet-—Japanese Meetings 1985-1990 . 210 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Japanese Economic Sectors and Employment on the Kurile Islands in the Late 1930's ....... 211 Soviet Forces Deployed in the Northern Territories 212 Soviet Military Aircraft Movements Around Japan 1975-84 e * e e * e e e® ° e s eo e e e e e e e e 213 Soviet Naval Activities Around Japan 1975-84 ... 214 Soviet Amphibious Lift Capability in the Far East 215 Soviet Trade as a Percentage of Total Trade ... 216 Soviet Trade with Japan as a Percentage of Trade with Capitalist Bloc e e °° e » 6 e e e e ° s ® 217 Comparisons of Soviet Trade with the Federal Republic of Germany, Finland and Japan .... 218 Direction of USSR Foreign Trade ......... 219 10. Value of Certain Countries' Trade with the USSR . 220 xi Chapter I HISTORY OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORIES DISPUTE Few bilateral relationships in the world have a greater unrealized potential than that between Japan and the Soviet Union.. The two nations are neighbors on the Asian-Pacific rim, an area being transformed by multilateral diplomatic adjustments, comparatively high rates of economic growth, and integrationist trends affecting the entire Pacific basin. Japan and the USSR have two of the largest economies in the world.