Fri, Dec 15, 2006 page5

• Aso suggests dividing disputed islands with Russia by area

  • AP
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  Japan's foreign minister has raised the possibility of solving a 60-year row with Russia by splitting the total area of a string of disputed islands between them, rather than dividing the islands by number.

  Russia and Japan have wrestled over the islands, called the southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan, since they were seized by the Soviets near the end of World War II. The dispute has blocked the signing of a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities.

  At a parliamentary foreign affairs committee meeting on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Taro Aso acknowledged that the decades-old idea of giving the two southernmost islands to Tokyo and the two others to Moscow would apportion more territory to Russia.

  Aso said that the idea of splitting the islands by total area should be looked at. Such a division would give Japan three of the islands and a quarter of the largest, northernmost island, Etorofu, he said.

  "Talking about two islands, three islands or four without taking land area into account is unacceptable," Aso said under questioning by the opposition. "We must carry forward negotiations in a sufficiently realistic way."

  Aso added that progress toward resolving the dispute needed to be made before Russian President Vladimir Putin's term ends in May 2008 because he is willing to settle the tiff.

  Japan has publicly rejected as insufficient a proposal -- included in a 1956 Soviet-Japanese declaration -- in which Moscow offered two of the islands to Tokyo. Putin recently tried to revive the idea, but it was shot down again by Japan.

  The island dispute is a favorite issue of Japanese right-wing politicians, who have demanded return of all four islands -- a position rejected by Moscow.

  Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki would not comment yesterday on whether dividing the territory would be pursued by the government, but said Aso's comments were made in line with the overall goal of reaching an agreement that suits both countries.

  Hidetoshi Taga, an international politics expert at Waseda University, said Aso's comments showed the government recognizes the dispute is an obstacle to working more closely with Russia on a number of issues, including exploiting resources in the country's Far East.

  But the prospects for implementing the idea were dim, in part because territorial issues tend to be quite emotional, he said.

  "Splitting it down the middle is not realistic. Border issues may come up and then there are likely to be disputes over how to manage them," Taga said.

  Tensions between the countries worsened in the wake of the fatal shooting of a Japanese fisherman and a seizure of the boat by the Russia coast guard in the disputed northern waters this past summer.

  In a teleconference with Putin in late October, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for negotiations over the territories to be accelerated so a peace treaty can be signed.

  Meanwhile, several of Abe's top lieutenants will join him in forfeiting their salaries for three months after the embarrassing revelation that government officials posed as regular citizens to ask softball questions at a series of public "town hall" meetings, the top government spokesman said yesterday.

  Abe paved the way on Wednesday, saying he would return his salary for the next three months after a commission looked into the public hearing on education reform.

  The Cabinet Office commission also found that the government paid some citizens to ask prearranged questions. The commission's findings were made public on Wednesday.

  Shiozaki yesterday said he would be among several top officials also giving up pay. The others include Education Minister Bunmei Ibuki, Transportation Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba and Justice Minister Jinen Nagase. Shiozaki will forfeit three months; the others, two.

  Abe is paid ¥41.5 million (US$355,000) a year before taxes. It was not immediately clear how much the other officials make or would be forfeiting.

  The commission found that since 2001, 65 members of the public were paid ¥5,000 each to pose questions at 25 town hall meetings, which are aimed at gathering public opinion in policymaking.

  The government's actions fueled suspicions that "public opinion was manipulated in order to instill government policy," the commission said.

  The findings come as public support has been falling for Abe. His popularity rating in recent polls has stood at around 50 percent, compared with about 70 percent when he took office in September.
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