Major events between Russia and Japan (Sept.2005-Jun.2007)
SUMMARY:
Kuril Islands Dispute: Russia and Japan’s dispute on the issue of Kuril Islands’ sovereignty reached a climax this June. The islands were seized by the Soviet troops in the closing days of World War II. Tokyo insists the Northern territories are not part of the Kuril chain of islands it renounced under the 1951 peace treaty with the Allies, while Moscow claims otherwise. Since June of this year, both sides expressed the willingness to resolve the issue and two leaders of each country are expected to have discussed plans at G8 Summit for mutual visits and negotiations regarding the Kuril Islands territorial dispute. But no substantial progresses were made from both sides so far.
Economy and Energy related deals: Russia has long been viewed by Japan as the most important alternative energy source of its Middle Eastern imports. Energy therefore is most important aspect in bilateral economic and trade cooperation of both sides. Although two countries have to cancel or delay some projects such as the cancellation of the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas development project and the rejection by Russian side of an oil pipeline construction, two sides have continuously maintained a positive trend in energy cooperation, including the availability of uranium supply, oil and gas pipeline projects, potential cooperation in liquid natural gas, oil exploration and gas-to-liquid technology, and plans in establishing a natural gas transportation system. But no significant deals were made so far.
Kuril Islands:
June.7-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed Thursday to continue negotiations to resolve a long-standing territorial dispute, eventually leading to the conclusion of a peace treaty, a Japanese official said. Meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, Putin welcomed as “appealing and constructive” an initiative submitted by Japan on cooperation in eight fields in the Russian Far East and Eastern Siberia. “Without delaying and shelving the territorial issue, which must eventually be resolved, let’s push forward with the negotiations,” Abe was quoted as saying to Putin in reference to the sovereignty dispute over a set of Russian-held islands off Hokkaido. The Russian president responded by saying, “I would like to remove all obstacles in the bilateral relationship.”
June.6-Japan has filed a request through the Russian Foreign Ministry that Moscow not perform “any provocative actions”over four islands in the southern Kuril chain currently claimed by both countries, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said June 6. Aso’s statement comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited the Russian-held islands June 2-3.
Jun.4-Japan expressed displeasure with the Russian foreign minister’s weekend visit to disputed islands off the northern main island of Hokkaido.”It is important to take sufficient care for such trips of senior Russian government officials not to negatively affect the Japanese-Russian territorial talks,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki told a news conference. “We have repeatedly asked the Russian side to fully consider the possible ramifications when planning visits to the islands by senior officials,” the top government spokesman said.
June.4-Japan wants to reach a mutually acceptable solution to the Kuril Islands territorial dispute with Russia, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said June 4. The statement comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s June 1 offer to negotiate with Japan over the islands, which the Soviet Union took from Japan after World War II, though Putin said that Russia’s claim to the islands is not contestable.
June.3- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made a tour of the islands known as the Northern Territories in Japan and as the Southern Kurils in Russia, becoming the first Russian foreign minister to visit the disputed islands since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. “Japan and Russia have agreed to seek a solution that is acceptable to both sides in line with past agreements,” Shiozaki stressed, noting that neither Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nor Foreign Minister Taro Aso have plans to visit the area of the Russian-held islands claimed by Japan.
Jan.3-Dividing the Kuril Islands by land area instead of number may solve the decades-old territorial dispute between Japan and Russia over the islands, Japanese New Komeito Party leader Akihiro Ota said Jan. 3.
Dec.15.06-Japan is not considering any proposals to split the disputed Kurile Islands with Russia, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Dec. 15. Any reports to the contrary were taken out of context, Aso added.
Economy:
May.31-Russia has made uranium production agreements with both Canada and Japan and will likely sign a similar deal with Australia in September, Russian nuclear official Sergei Kiriyenko said May 31. The deals are part of a large-scale plan to increase uranium production inside Russia to meet increasing demand.
May.17-Russian railroad chief Vladimir Klimenko said May 17 Japan is prepared to invest about $11.6 billion in the construction of a railroad linking the Japanese island of Hokkaido and Russia's Sakhalin Island. Klimenko also said Russia plans to link Sakhalin to the mainland.
Oct.13.06-Michinoku Bank Moscow, the Russian branch of one of the biggest banks in Japan, is pulling out of Russia after seven years there, Kommersant reported Oct. 13, citing sources. It will effectively remove itself from Russia by selling off all its 10 million stocks to the Japanese Mizuho Corporate Bank for $58 million.
Nov.21.05- Japan agreed to support Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Russian President Vladimir Putin also signed an agreement that their countries will jointly fight terrorism and cooperate in energy, communications and tourism-related matters. Putin, during his three-day visit to Japan, said stronger economic relations between Moscow and Tokyo will help improve overall relations.
Nov.15.05- Russian President Vladimir Putin will not propose a joint economic exploration project of the South Kuril Islands when he visits Japan next week, Russian Ambassador to Japan Alexander Losyukov said Nov. 15. Losyukov's comment refutes claims by Mainiti, a major Japanese newspaper, that Putin will present a proposal based on a Russian Foreign Ministry source.
Energy:
April.10-Russian and Kazakh officials are in Japan to attend the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum from April 10-12 and discuss uranium supply and availability. Japan uses nuclear power for 30 percent of its energy and aims to increase to 40 percent by 2030. Russia, which is one of the world's major suppliers of uranium enrichment services, has the ability to provide 30 percent of Japan's uranium needs.
Feb.26-Russian Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso agreed Feb. 26 to strengthen cooperation in oil and natural gas trading. The two ministers reportedly discussed Russia projects on Sakhalin Island and the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline project. Japan imports 89 percent of its oil from the Middle East and is seeking to diversify its energy imports by trading with Russia for natural gas, uranium and oil.
Jan.25-Russian state-controlled natural gas monopoly Gazprom meet with officials from Japan's Agency of Natural Resources and Energy on Jan. 25 in Moscow to discuss an energy cooperation agreement made in November 2005, agency leader Harufumi Mochizuki said. The agreement, signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's November 2005 visit to Tokyo, focuses on several areas for potential cooperation, including liquid natural gas, oil exploration and gas-to-liquid technology.
Sep.28.06-At least 10 “expressions of interest” for liquefied natural gas supplies from a potential third production line were offered to Royal Dutch/Shell’s Sakhalin-2 joint venture Sept. 28. Sakhalin-2 hopes to increase expansion from 9.6 million tons to 16 million metric tons a year, Ate Visser, the commercial director for the Shell-led Sakhalin Energy Investment Co., said. Japanese and South Korean utilities will take up most of the output from the $22 billion venture, but requests for additional supplies have come from other companies in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, India and the United States, Visser said.
Sep.27.06-Russian natural gas company Gazprom announced its eastern strategy Sept. 27. Gazprom plans to establish a natural gas transportation system in Russia’s Far East, even though coal is the dominant fuel source in that region. The system is intended to meet domestic demand and transport liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Sakhalin Island. Gazprom also expects to deliver natural gas to China from Siberia and LNG to Japan, South Korea and other Asian countries in the Pacific.
Sep.19.06-The cancellation of the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas development project could have a negative impact on overall Japanese-Russian relations, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Sept. 19. The comment was made in response to Russia's Sept. 18 decision to revoke approval of an environmental survey of the area to be used by the project, in effect canceling the venture.
April.20.06-The operator of the Sakhalin-2 energy project in Russia, Sakhalin Energy, signed a contract April 20 with Japanese natural gas provider Hiroshima Gas to supply the company with 210,000 metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year for 20 years. Under the deal, small ice-breaking vessels will transport about 20,000 cubic meters of LNG at a time from Sakhalin to Japan. The first LNG exports from Sakhalin-2 are scheduled for export in the summer of 2008.
Feb.06.06-Russia's environmental regulatory authority, Rostekhnadzor, on Feb. 6 rejected proposals designed to save money that would have brought an oil pipeline within about a half-mile of Lake Baikal. China and Japan will be affected by the decision, as the pipeline would have alleviated their dependence on supplies from the Middle East.
Nov.21.05-Russian President Vladimir Putin on Nov. 21 said Russia is committed to building an oil pipeline from Siberia to the Pacific with “eventual supplies to the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan.” Japan has been pushing for the second stage of construction of the Russian pipeline.
Sep.22.05- Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom energy firm reached a deal Sept. 22 with Japanese companies Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Itochu to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the planned extraction site at Shtokman natural gas field in the Barents Sea to the United States, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc. reported Sept. 22. The transport would amount to 15 million tons of LNG annually, or 10 percent of international LNG trade.
Visits and others:
Oct.16.06-Gen. Yury Baluyevsky, general chief of staff of Russia's armed forces, left Oct. 16 for a working visit to Japan. Baluyevsky will meet with Japanese defense officials to discuss cooperation between the countries' militaries, the situation in the Asia-Pacific region and other global issues.
Oct.06.06-Naval vessels from the Japanese Self-Defense Forces conducted a joint exercise with two Russian warships and a diesel submarine off the Japanese port of Maidzuru on Oct.6.
Oct.03.06-The captain of a Japanese fishing boat was returned to Japan on Oct. 3; he has been held in Russian custody since Aug. 16. His boat entered disputed waters around the southern Kurils to fish and was subsequently caught by a Russian border patrol unit. The captain was forced to relinquish his fishing vessel and pay a $12,700 fine.
Jan.09.06-Japanese Defense Agency Director Fukushiro Nukaga is to leave Japan on Jan. 10 for meetings with his counterparts in the United Kingdom, Russia and the United States, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported Jan. 9. Nukaga is is scheduled to meet with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov on Jan. 13 to discuss North Korea, China and defense cooperation.
Nov.22.05-Russian President Vladimir Putin on Nov. 22 concluded a three-day visit to Japan. During his visit, Putin reassured Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that Russia is committed to building an oil pipeline to the Pacific. The leaders failed to settle territorial disputes over the Kuril Islands.
Nov.20.05- Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Japan on Nov. 20 for talks aimed at boosting economic and political cooperation between the two countries. Although little progress is expected on the territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands, Japan and Russia are expected to continue supporting each other's respective bids to become permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the World Trade Organization.
Oct.13.05- Japan on Oct. 13 responded to Russian requests for a joint initiative in the development of a new Kliper spacecraft. Japan said it will begin researching the request and respond by the end of the year.
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