Ex-Japanese Prime Minister Says Tokyo's Stance Towards Moscow 'Wrong'

TOKYO (Sputnik) - The attitude of the Japanese government led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida towards Russia is wrong, former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told Sputnik on Friday.

On Friday, ambassadors of some 40 states visited the Russian Embassy in Japan on the occasion of the upcoming Russia Day, which is celebrated annually on June 12. Hatoyama was among those who visited the embassy.

"I think that the Japanese government's attitude towards Russia is wrong. There have been various discussions, including on the territorial issues, and I thought that the improvement of relations would bring the solution of this problem closer. However, at present [Japan], in obedience to the United States, is almost giving military support to Ukraine, so Japan is supporting Ukraine and looking at Russia as an enemy. As a result, the friendship that we had until now is deteriorating. I deeply regret this," Hatoyama said.

The former prime minister said that Japan's power elite should adopt a more balanced approach to building relations with Russia.

"I think it is necessary to formulate a policy with a more correct point of view. Kishida's administration, as well as Japanese media that take the government's side, are fixated on supporting Ukraine, but I think [they] should have approached the problem with a more neutral attitude," Hatoyama said.

A total of 700 individuals, including 311 individuals from Russia's new regions, and 207 companies have been sanctioned by Japan since the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. A total of 437 Russian entities have been affected by export restrictions under Japan's sanctions packages.

Russia and Japan have been locked in a dispute over the four southernmost Kuril Islands (Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and Habomai) since the two countries never signed a permanent peace treaty after World War II. Japan has refused to give up its claims over the four islands, which it refers to as its Northern Territories. Moscow and Tokyo have tried to negotiate separate aspects of their disagreements, but have never signed a full postwar peace treaty.

In 2018, Japan and Russia agreed to accelerate negotiations on a peace treaty based on the 1956 Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration. However, in March 2022, Moscow withdrew from talks with Japan on signing a post-World War II peace treaty, and suspended visa-free travel for Japanese citizens to the Southern Kuril Islands and joint economic activities on the disputed islands. The move was due to Tokyo's "unfriendly" steps over the Ukraine conflict, Moscow has said.