Islands and Peace

One of the last remaining obstacles to a peace treaty between Japan and the Soviet Union formally ending World War II is the fate of four small islands north of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost province, that have been occupied by the Russians since 1945. Shortly after Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko visited Tokyo last January, Soviet officials hinted that they might agree to a "lease" arrangement that would implicitly recognize the Japanese claim over the islands--recognition that Tokyo has made a precondition to any treaty. But before starting talks on the treaty as the Russians wished, Japan's new Premier Kakuei Tanaka flew off to Peking. Two weeks ago, Tanaka finally dispatched Foreign Minister Masayoshi Ohira to Moscow. His reception, like the weather, was rather chilly.

The Russians were openly suspicious of Tanaka's Peking trip and refused to discuss the islands at all. One reason for the stiffly courteous meeting may have been that Japan's recognition of China runs counter to the latest Soviet blueprint for peace in Asia. Moscow is already pressing on diplomats from the Far East a concept called "Asian collective security."

Its major priority will be the development of Siberia as a military and economic bulwark against Chinese expansion. To this end, Russia has asked Japan for $1.5 billion to help develop Siberia's vast oil and gas resources, which would give the Japanese both a financial and a political stake in preserving Russian hegemony in the area. But Soviet inflexibility on the island issue will hardly inspire the Japanese to rush into the oil and gas business.

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