This document summarizes Japan's three territorial issues - Northern Territories, Senkaku Islands, and Takeshima Island. For each issue, it outlines the past, present, and potential future approaches and status of negotiations between Japan and the other claimant states (Russia for Northern Territories, China for Senkaku, South Korea for Takeshima). Key events and diplomatic discussions are mentioned for historical and current context. The future sections suggest potential negotiation strategies and confidence building measures for each ongoing territorial dispute.

1. Japan’s Three
Territorial Issues
May 15, 2012
Kazuhiko Togo
Kyoto Sangyo University

3. Northern Territories: Past
Historical memory: Summer 1945
Cold War: 51 San Francisco; 56 Joint
Declaration; 60 Gromyko statement
Post-Cold War: 25 years of negotiations
KE talk HStransfer KEdecide
91 Ka.-Go. OK NO ------
93 Tok.D. OK OK indirect ------
01 Irkutsk OK OK start

4. Northern Territories: Present
2006 Russian decisions:
Resume talks + Invest to the islands
2009 “unlawful occupation”
 2010 Medvedev’s visit to Kunashiri
2012: Putin reelected as president
March 1 Press interview
May 7 Inauguration

5. Northern Territories: Future
How should we evaluate Putin?
Probably last stage negotiations are
opened for the foreseeable future
Economic cooperation projects
Starting from Irkutsk  Anything but
“four islands en bloc (ikkatsu)”
Half to one year negotiations period
Who are the negotiators?

7. Senkaku: Past
1895~1971 Japanese sovereignty, no
objection from China or Taiwan
1971: Taiwan and china claim (Oil 1968)
72 Zhou “not now”; 78 Deng “next
generation”  tacit agreement to shelve
90 China’s territorial water law
97 Fishery agreement
02 GOJ lease 04 seven activists landing

8. Senkaku: Present
2008 Research vessels for 9 hours sailing
2010.9.7 Collision of fishery vessels to coast
guards
“core interests” : key strategic location
between Taiwan and Okinawa, which is on
the first islands chain
Possibility to explode as historical memory
issue: outside Ryuukyu’s 36 islands; 1885
GOJ’s hesitancy; precursor to Taiwan

9. Senkaku: Future
Prepare : dynamic defense position
and strengthening of southern
deployment of MSDF from December
2010
Talk: Gromyko’s humiliation not
needed
What to aim? From minimal control to
peaceful coexistence, eventually to
joint economic activities

11. Takeshima: Past
1905 Shimane ownership
1910 Korea’s annexation
51 San Francisco (IL Japan stronger)
1954 Korea’s Takeshima occupation
1965 Normalization talk
Historical memory: precursor to the
annexation + identity emotionalism
1998 Fishery agreement

12. Takeshima: Present
2005 Shimane Prefecture’s
“Takeshima Day”  diplomatic war
2006 sea bed map incident
2008 textbook and naming issue
2011 three parliamentarians’ visa
refused

13. Takeshima: Future
Talk: sovereignty, track II more
realistic
2011 Ikeuchi and Kim talk
Confidence building measure:
governments’ imitative needed;
Japan-Russia experience to borrow
June 2009 SAIS Conference