TOKYO, July 22. /TASS/. The second charter flight carrying former residents of the South Kuril Islands departed on Sunday from the Japanese town of Nakashibetsu to Russia, the Kyodo news agency reported.
The group consists of 70 people, including 39 former residents of the islands and their family members, as well as accompanying them and a Japanese Foreign Ministry official. The flight is being operated by Russia’s Aurora air company.
The group will travel to the islands of Kunashir and Iturup in order to visit the family graves of the former residents. The Japanese citizens will spend a night on the islands and return to Nakashibetsu on July 23.
In September 2017, Russia and Japan arranged the first charter flight to the South Kuril Islands for their former residents. An agreement on that was reached at a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Japanese prime minister held in Moscow on April 27. 2017. In May 2018, the two countries’ leaders confirmed their agreement to arrange another charter flight.
South Kuril Islands issue
Since the mid-20th century, Russia and Japan have been holding consultations in order to clinch a peace treaty as a follow-up to World War II. The Kuril Islands issue remains the sticking point since after WWII the islands were handed over to the Soviet Union while Japan laid claims to the four southern islands. In 1956, the two countries signed a common declaration on ending the state of war and restoring diplomatic and all other relations, however, a peace treaty has still not been reached. Moscow has stated many times that Russia’s sovereignty over the islands cannot be called into question.