We Demand, umm ask, err request.....

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Kozumi ALMOST gets tough

Japan Talks Tough With Russia Over Islands

Sep 2, 6:44 AM (ET)

By ERIC TALMADGE

TOKYO (AP) - Revving up for the 59th anniversary of the Soviet occupation of several tiny, frozen islands in the North Pacific, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has been talking tough with Russia.

Occupied or not, he says, the southern Kuril Islands are an "integral part of Japan." And if Moscow ever wants to sign a peace treaty to formally end World War II - and open the door to more Japanese money - it needs to understand Japan's position.

To drive home his point, Koizumi had even planned to mark Thursday's anniversary by going to one of the isles, something no Japanese leader has ever done. But wary of angering Moscow, he simply viewed the islands from a Coast Guard ship on Thursday .

Though Moscow's takeover of the islands has faded into the haze of history for most Japanese, Koizumi's stepped-up rhetoric underscores its continued political significance - it's a favorite rallying topic for Japan's ruling conservatives - and the dispute's strong influence on regional diplomacy.

Not surprisingly, Koizumi's plan to visit the isles brought a stiff rebuff from Moscow.

In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry said Monday that the plan was motivated chiefly by domestic political considerations. It added that "it is difficult to imagine that such steps could be aimed at bringing a constructive element into bilateral Russian-Japanese relations."

Koizumi's spokesman, Yu Kameoka, denied that the trip would harm relations with Moscow, but said that Russia has to take Japan's position on the islands seriously.

"There will be no peace treaty unless we resolve the territorial issue," Kameoka said in Tokyo. "Signing the peace treaty would not only benefit Japan but also Russia, and we hope that Russia understands that."

It was not clear how close the Coast Guard vessel took Koizumi to the islands, which are visible from Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido. But Koizumi says his close encounter will still send a strong message.

"The Northern Territories are an indigenous part of Japan," he told reporters this week. "I think it is important to gain understanding from Russia about Japan's stance."

His emphasis on the issue has won some praise.

"It has been more than a decade since the fall of the Soviet Union, and nearly 60 since the end of World War II," the Mainichi, a major newspaper, said in a recent editorial. "It is extremely odd that we have yet to fix our borders with Russia."

But critics have slammed Koizumi for grandstanding to his ruling Liberal Democratic Party's right wing, a criticism he has strongly denied.

"That's just criticism for criticism's sake," Koizumi said. "Some people will criticize me no matter what I do."

Despite his recent tough talk, Koizumi has made a point of improving ties with Japan's giant neighbor.

He has met several times with President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to visit Tokyo early next year, and both have vowed to try to realize the signing of a peace treaty while they are still in office.

Koizumi has also pushed hard for an oil pipeline from Siberia to the Russian Pacific coast. The multibillion dollar project would be a boon for energy-poor Japan, but Moscow has remained coy and is considering a rival plan that would send the oil to China.

Russia and Japan have had diplomatic ties since 1956. But they haven't signed a peace treaty formally ending their wartime enmity because of the dispute over the islands, which are small and sparsely populated but located in an area rich in natural resources.

The Soviet army began moving onto the islands in August 1945 and completed their occupation by Sept. 3, weeks after Japan had formally surrendered. Japan claims the occupation was a brazen example of opportunism and says the islands had been inhabited by its indigenous Ainu people for centuries.

Moscow has written off those claims, arguing that Russians were exploring the islands as early as 1697.

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ohhhh you can feel the anger


Is Kozumi groping Putin??? (see left arm)