THE JAPAN NEWS

 

In addition to the chartered boats that are currently used, the government is considering using airplanes for visits to the northern territories by former residents and others without passports or visas, it has been learned.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to expand the no-visa framework at their bilateral meeting in December, for such purposes as improving convenience for people visiting family graves on the islands and increasing travel to and from the islands.

The government will shortly start talks with Russia, aiming to realize the plan as early as this spring, according to informed sources.

The following types of visits to the islands are currently allowed: visits to graves and “free visits” by Japanese citizens who are former residents of the islands and their families; and “non-visa exchanges” by academics, people involved in the activities calling for the return of the islands, members of the media and others.

Chartered boats are used for these visits, and entry and departure procedures must be completed on a boat off Furukamappu, Kunashiri Island. Even when visiting the islands of Etorofu and Shikotan and Habomai group of islets, it is necessary to stop in the offshore area to carry out the onboard procedures. Former residents and others have called for reducing the burden.

Moreover, as high tides may hinder people from landing in winter, visits are currently made only from around May to October every year, which has prompted calls for improvement.

The government is reportedly considering a flight route between Hokkaido’s Nemuro Nakashibetsu Airport and Mendeleyevo Airport on Kunashiri Island, a route flown by a Russian airplane chartered by the Japanese government in October 2000. Other possible routes include one between Nemuro Nakashibetsu Airport and Yasniy Airport on Etorofu Island, the source said.

The government plans to ask Russia to allow a framework that will not conflict with Japan’s legal status, such as not regarding these flights as international flights, the sources said.

Shikotan and Habomai have no airports, so the government will make it possible to visit these directly from Nemuro Port by building a point for the entry and departure procedures for passengers on chartered boats off these islands. The government aims to reduce the burden on visitors by shortening the time required to travel by ship.

The government is looking beyond improved convenience for visits to swiftly realize joint economic activities on the islands, the issue on which Abe and Putin agreed to start negotiations at the talks at the end of last year.

Both governments will discuss the possibility of expanding the scope of Japanese citizens eligible for the non-visa visit framework to those related to business, to accelerate efforts toward creating the necessary environment for joint economic activities.