Russian-Japanese Impasse and Its Implications

Relations between Russia and Japan are seriously strained. At the heart of the impasse is a territorial dispute over a group of islands seized by the Soviet Union in 1945 and claimed by both countries. The Japanese Government maintains that there can be no normalization of relations between the two countries until Russia agrees to return the islands. Japan may refuse to participate in large-scale economic assistance to Russia until it is satisfied on the territorial question.