The Japanese side has never voiced such territorial claims before. Until now, Tokyo saw the Southern Kurile Islands as "the northern territories." However, now its seems that Japanese parliamentarians have extended this term to mean all the Kuriles.
Apart from territorial claims, Japan is trying to present other claims to Russia stemming from WWII. For instance, Tokyo wants to portray Japanese prisoners of war captured by the Red Army in northeast China, in Korea, South Sakhalin and the Kuriles, as interned persons. Japan wants to receive material compensation from Russia.
The new claims have put President Putin's summer visit to Tokyo under a question mark, as they change the context of bilateral talks.
Japan has also stepped up its territorial disputes with China and Korea, which may leave the international community taking a negative view on Tokyo's "territorial syndrome."
This insistent approach to presenting claims could convince Tokyo's neighbors to forge an informal "front" against Japan. However, analysts believe that this would only complicate security in the Far East.
