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August 11, 2026
 

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NORTHERN TERRITORIES

Signs demanding the return of a group of islands, called the Northern Territories in Japanese and the Kuril Islands in Russian, in Nemuro, Hokkaido, in April 2022
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2026
Japan protests Russian drills near disputed islands
Russia said that live-fire drills would be held in waters off Kunashiri and Etorofu islands.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi poses with junior high school students, including great-grandchildren of former residents of the Russian-held islands off Hokkaido.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2026
Takaichi keen to resume grave visits in Russian-held islands off Hokkaido
The suspension of the program due to Russia¡¯s invasion of Ukraine is a ¡°humanitarian issue and a top priority in Japan-Russia relations,¡± Takaichi said.
Seagulls fly above a bay on Shikotan Island, one of four islands known as the Northern Territories in Japan.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2026
Russia to name Northern Territories island after Soviet spy Sorge
Moscow is expected to soon formally approve the decision to name an uninhabited island in the Lesser Kurils after the spy who operated in Japan before the Pacific War.
A man pays tribute to his ancestors during a memorial service at sea on Saturday near disputed islands off Hokkaido controlled by Russia.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 27, 2026
Memorial at sea starts for late residents of Russia-held isles
A Japan-Russia exchange program related to the islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories, has been suspended since Moscow¡¯s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A Russian military IL-20 reconnaissance aircraft flies in airspace over waters near Japan on Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2026
Russian warplane violates Japanese airspace over islets claimed by Tokyo
A Defense Ministry official said that Tokyo is currently in a situation where it is virtually unable to exercise jurisdiction over the Russian-controlled Northern Territories.
Former residents of the Northern Territories join hands aboard the exchange ship Etopirika, in July last year.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2026
Ex-residents to hold memorial services near Japan-claimed isles
Former residents of Russian-held northwestern Pacific islands claimed by Japan will hold memorial services for their ancestors at sea and in the air between July 25 and Nov. 7, the prefectural government of Hokkaido said Friday.
Students from Okinawa Prefecture speak with Hiroshi Tokuno (left) at an exchange center for the Northern Territories issue in Nemuro, Hokkaido, on Dec. 27.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Mar 2, 2026
Okinawa students visit Hokkaido to learn about disputed islands
Over 80 years after Soviet forces seized four islands from Japan, former Japanese residents remain unable to return to their hometowns.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Russia's relations with Japan "have ?been reduced to zero" over what he cast as Tokyo's "unfriendly stance" toward Moscow.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 21, 2026
Russia says no peace dialogue ongoing with Japan over territorial dispute
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia¡¯s relations with Japan ¡°have ?been reduced to zero¡± due to its ¡°unfriendly stance¡± toward Moscow.
An annual national rally to demand the return of Russian-held islands off Hokkaido claimed by Japan, called the Northern Territories, is held in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2026
Japan to continue push for restart of visits to Northern Territories
The visits, which allowed former residents to visit the graves of their ancestors on the Russian-held island, were halted for reasons including Russia¡¯s invasion of Ukraine.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi receives a petition regarding the Northern Territories from Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki (fourth from left) and Nemuro City Mayor Masatoshi Ishigaki (far left) at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 2, 2025
Takaichi vows to resume grave visits to northern islands by ex-residents
Grave visits by former residents had been suspended following Russia¡¯s invasion of Ukraine, which started in February 2022.
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 31, 2025
Russia says peace talks with Japan only possible if Tokyo abandons ¡®anti-Russian course¡¯
Soviet troops took control of four islands off Hokkaido at the end of World War II.
Kunashiri, one of the four islands seized by Russia in the last days of World War II, is visible from the Shiretoko Peninsula in northeastern Hokkaido.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jul 22, 2025
Ex-residents of Russian-controlled islands off Hokkaido want grave-site visits resumed
Now in their advanced years, the former residents want the visits to be restored for them to honor their ancestors whose grave sites are located on the four islands.
Former residents of Russian-held islands claimed by Japan hold a memorial service aboard the exchange ship Etopirika, which arrived off Kunashiri, part of the Northern Territories, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2025
Ex-residents of Japan-claimed isles hold memorial at sea
Former Japanese residents of the Russian-held islands cannot return to their hometowns because exchange programs between the two countries have been suspended.
A view of Kunashir ¡ª known as Kunashiri in Japanese ¡ª one a group of Russian-controlled islands off Hokkaido that are claimed by Japan
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2025
Memorial services at sea to be held off disputed islands
Two of the five events will involve an overnight stay on a ship, with participants offering prayers toward part of Kunashiri Island.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 15, 2025
Russia to conduct drill in waters near disputed island off Hokkaido
The Japanese government has lodged a protest with Russia over the planned drills near Shikotan.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in a video message shown at a national rally demanding the return of the Northern Territories held in Tokyo in February.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2025
Russia bans Japanese NGO amid disputed islands row
The four islands were captured by the Soviet military during the final months of the war, and have been held by Moscow since, in what Tokyo describes as an ¡°illegal occupation.¡±
Concept art for the renewed National Museum of Territory and Sovereignty
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2025
Â鶹´«Ã½ territory museum to reopen in April following renovations
The museum in Tokyo¡¯s Chiyoda Ward is designed to publicize Â鶹´«Ã½ position on disputed territories.
Takako Yamashita, a descendant of a former Japanese resident of the Russian-controlled islands called the Northern Territories, seeks to preserve memories of life on the isles through the creation of pictorial maps.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2024
Memories of Russian-held isles preserved through pictorial maps
The maps feature the names of residents on each house and colorful illustrations of flora and fauna, as well as scenes from daily life.
Upper House lawmaker Muneo Suzuki speaks to reporters in Moscow on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 30, 2024
Pro-Moscow lawmaker Muneo Suzuki visits Russia again
The Upper House member defied the central government by flying to Moscow for talks with senior Russian officials.
Members of the State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament, attend a plenary session in Moscow on July 10.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 24, 2024
Russian MPs vote to broaden ¡®undesirable organizations¡¯ law
One of the bill¡¯s authors said that British, German and Japanese organizations could fall under the new legislation.
America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.
How Â鶹´«Ã½ racehorses find second careers away from the track
TCC Therapy Park is supported financially by racing organizations as well as donations from members of the public.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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