Japan to Again Describe Southern Kurils as Occupied Areas in Diplomatic Bluebook - Reports

TOKYO (Sputnik) - The Japanese government will again describe the Southern Kuril islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories, as an inherent part of the country claimed to be illegally occupied by Russia, in its Diplomatic Bluebook, the Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday.
Sputnik
The move follows the Russian decision on refusing to negotiate a peace treaty with Japan, halting visa-free travel for Japanese citizens to the Southern Kuril Islands, and withdrawing from dialogue with Japan on establishing joint economic activities on the archipelago.
The Russian steps, in tern, were made in response to the Japanese government's decision to join the harsh sanctions against Moscow over its special operation in Ukraine.
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Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine on February 24 to support the people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Japan was among the many US allies to join the harsh sanctions against Russia, though many other Asian countries have choose to avoid tensions.
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