TOKYO, June 22. /TASS/. Japan has yet to come to terms with the outcome of World War II and continues to put forward illegal, unacceptable territorial claims to the southern part of the Kuril Islands, Russian Charge d'Affaires in Japan Gennady Ovechko said on Thursday.

"Russia remembers quite well that, in those years, imperial Japan was extremely militarized and Tokyo was a staunch ally of Hitler's Germany and Fascist Italy. Japan has not accepted the outcome of World War II, and continues to dispute it, making illegal, unacceptable territorial claims to the southern Kurils. For the sake of historical truth and its projection onto the present day, we need more than ever to remember the deeds of the genuine heroes of those times and honor their memory," he said during a commemorative ceremony of laying flowers at the tomb of famous Soviet spy Richard Sorge, which took place at the Tama cemetery in Fuchu, Tokyo Prefecture.

The event took place on the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow, marking the 82nd anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (the USSR's Great Patriotic War was part of a greater conflict known to the world at large as World War II - TASS). During the ceremony, the embassy and trade mission staff, as per tradition, laid a wreath and red carnations at the tomb of the spy.

Moscow and Tokyo have been in negotiations on a peace treaty based on the outcome of World War II since the mid-20th century. The main obstacle to such an accord remains the disagreement over rights to the southern part of the Kuril Islands. After the war, the entire archipelago was incorporated into the Soviet Union, but Japan disputes the ownership of the islands of Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan, as well as several small uninhabited islands. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stressed that Russia’s sovereignty over these islands is based on a firm legal foundation and is indisputable.

After the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, Tokyo imposed several packages of sanctions on Moscow. In this regard, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced in March 2022 that Moscow would stop negotiating a peace treaty with Tokyo. It was also decided to cancel visa-free travel privileges for Japanese citizens on the basis of the 1991 agreements on visa-free exchange between the southern Kuril Islands. In addition, the Russian side announced its withdrawal from the dialogue with Japan on the establishment of joint economic activities in the southern Kurils and blocked the extension of Japan's status as a sectoral dialogue partner of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC).