EDITORIAL: Ragged Russian ties

Japan's relations with Russia have recently descended into a frosty state characterized by repeated exchanges of diatribes. Steps must be taken to break this vicious, fruitless circle.

On Monday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan harshly criticized Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Kunashiri Island last November as "an unforgivable outrage."

Moscow quickly blasted the remark, noting both its rejection of the censure and refusal to review Russian sovereignty over the long-disputed Northern Territories, four islands seized by Soviet forces at the close of World War II.

Though we understand Kan's gist, his choice of words was out of character.

Following Medvedev's visit, Russia also sent to Kunashiri senior officials, including its first deputy premier and defense minister. Those occasions were used by Moscow to unveil plans to bolster its military presence in the Northern Territories and promote economic development projects with participation by South Korean companies.

While this signals a move by Russian to tighten its control over the islands, it naturally put Japan on its guard.

In the past, Tokyo and Moscow have repeatedly agreed to resolve the territorial dispute through negotiations. In view of this, any reckless attempt to railroad through recognition of Russian sovereignty simply by enumerating the objective reality is unacceptable.

Then again, considering the drift of Japan's Russia diplomacy to date, the tenor of Kan's statement was certainly unexpected.

In the first place, normal head-of-state diplomacy between Tokyo and Moscow is barely functional. There have only been two summits between Medvedev and Kan. Though Japan and Russia have key roles to play in security, economic cooperation and other issues in the Asia-Pacific region, there have been no penetrating deliberations of these challenges as yet.

In a virtual vacuum of high-level political dialogue, Japan has no means or leverage to halt visits by leading Russian officials to the Northern Territories. With only feelings of distrust weighing heavily between both sides, hard-line declarations will do little more than aimlessly provoke Moscow and undermine negotiations on the future of the isles.

Kan's power base has been weakened to the point that his administration is locked in a desperate struggle just to advance fiscal 2011 budget deliberations. Though Kan may choose to issue aggressive calls for a resolution of the nagging isle row, Russia is certainly aware of his shaky position.

Needed under such circumstances are efforts to reopen the path for constructive dialogue. With Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara to visit Russia from this Friday, we hope that he uses discussions with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov as the first opportunity to move in that direction.

To begin, the two sides should firmly determine what they do and don't accept with regard to the course of negotiations on the Northern Territories up to now. Without such clarity, there is little hope for fruitful deliberations ahead.

Also critical are talks on international cooperation to address North Korea's nuclear ambitions, Japan-Russia economic collaboration and other issues. We likewise hope the meeting will produce in-depth discussion on development of natural gas fields and coal sources in Siberia and the Russian Far East, along with teamwork in uranium enrichment and other energy fields.

Russia is also moving into its own political season. The end of this year will bring the State Duma (lower house) election, followed by a presidential election in spring of 2012.

With progress on territorial issues unlikely at such politically sensitive times, it is doubly important to rack up positive results in other areas for the time being.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 9