Let's Regain Disputed Territories!

As I was walking around the Sapporo Snow Festival two weekends ago, I couldn’t help but notice a few curious signs that were posted around the park, attempting to blend into the rich landscape of advertisements. Unlike the surrounding ads, these signs weren’t trying to sell a product but rather, a viewpoint in one of Japan’s longest-running territorial disputes-and one that smacked of nationalism, at that.
Just outside of the souvenir and restaurant area was another curious landmark, a “Signature Campaign Corner for a Petition Demanding the return of the Northern Territories”. Um, is this where I can buy snow cones?

Finally, when I saw Jarhead at the Shimoda Jusco on Friday, there was another brief reminder about the “Northern Territories” nestled in between previews for Hollywood blockbusters and actresses crying skulls. What’s going on here?
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, all of these advertisements relate to what is known as the Kuril Islands Dispute, a tiff with Russia over four islands that lie just north of Hokkaido. The dispute stems from Russia’s occupation of the islands immediately following the end of the war but can be traced as far back as the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905 (interestingly enough, some of the negotiations were held in Momoishi’s sister city, Kittery, Maine), which ended Japan’s debutante ball, a.k.a. the Russo-Japanese War. While Japan has a long tradition of territorial disputes with its neighbors (and I use the term “disputes” here somewhat lightly), the duration of this particular conflict makes it something of a historical curiosity.

Naturally, you must be wondering why on earth such a seemingly insignificant issue remains yet to be solved. If you believe the Japanese national government’s official party line, it’s simply because the Russians wrongfully occupied the four islands and refuse to relinquish them to this day. The truth of the matter, however, is probably somewhat more complicated. A little research reveals the fat fingers of none other than the US of A in the international pie yet again and seems to suggest that the Kuril Islands might truly be the last frontier of the Cold War. Of course, as was the case with Okinawa, the indigenous inhabitants of the islands, the Ainu, have been relegated to the sidelines while the claim to their homes lies in the balance of an international game of tug-of-war.

So what now? Well, the sudden ubiquity of this new ad campaign would seem to suggest that the Japanese national government is attempting to stir up enough nationalism to apply adequate pressure to the Russians. With this year marking the 60th anniversary of the Soviet occupation of the islands, it seems likely that the national government decided it was finally time to settle the score. However, with both Moscow and Tokyo maintaining the same hard line on the issue that they’ve been pursuing for the last half-century, a resolution doesn’t exactly seem imminent.

So here’s my suggestion: an equal number of Russian and Japanese diplomats should be sent to the disputed islands for an international edition of “Survivor”. Between those voted off of the islands and those killed off by the harsh winter, there should be little trouble in whittling down the numbers at which point, the last man standing would win. Someone would gain control of the disputed islands and we’d all get a deliciously Darwinian season of quality programming. Everyone wins, no?