Questions about Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What did the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 accomplish?
The Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, signed on the 19th of October 1956, ended the state of war between Japan and the Soviet Union and restored diplomatic relations between the two countries. It also committed the Soviet Union to support Japan's bid for UN membership and to waive all Second World War reparations claims. A trade protocol granting reciprocal most-favored-nation status was signed alongside the declaration.
Why did the Soviet Union not sign the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty with Japan?
The Soviet Union did not sign the 1951 Treaty of Peace with Japan, which left the two countries technically in a state of war long after hostilities had ended. The 1956 Joint Declaration was the mechanism eventually used to formally end that state of war and restore diplomatic relations in the absence of a full peace treaty.
Which islands did the Soviet Union promise to transfer to Japan in the 1956 declaration?
Article 9 of the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 stipulated that the Soviet Union would transfer the Habomai Islands and the island of Shikotan to Japan. The transfer was conditional on the conclusion of a formal peace treaty between the two countries, which has never been signed.
Why has no peace treaty been signed between Japan and Russia after the 1956 declaration?
A formal peace treaty was never concluded in part because the United States threatened to retain the Ryukyu Islands if Japan conceded territory in the north, which discouraged Japan from completing negotiations. The fundamental disagreement also persisted: Japan demanded the return of four islands, while the Soviet Union maintained that only the transfer of Shikotan and the Habomais remained to be settled.
What is the Kuril Islands dispute and how does the 1956 declaration relate to it?
The Kuril Islands dispute centers on Japan's claim to the islands of Kunashiri, Etorofu, Shikotan, and the Habomais, which have remained under Soviet and then Russian administration since the Second World War. The 1956 declaration's promise of a two-island transfer clashed with Japan's persistent demand for all four islands, and that gap became the cornerstone of the dispute through the Soviet era and into the post-Soviet period.
What did Sergei Lavrov say about the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 in 2004?
On the 14th of November 2004, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated in an NTV interview that the Russian Federation, as successor state to the Soviet Union, recognized the 1956 declaration and was prepared to conduct territorial talks with Japan on that basis. President Vladimir Putin made a parallel statement the following day.