1.  Where are the Kuril islands? Where are the boundary dispute between Japan and Russian Federation?

  The Kuril islands are located in far north-west Pacific Ocean between Kamchatka Peninsula and Hokkaido island of the Japanese Archipelago.
(See Map below)

   At least Etorofu island, Kunashiri island, Shikotan island and Habomai islands ( or Habomai group of islands) are now in dispute between Japan and Russian Federation. USSR troops invaded these islands after Japan accepted the surrender of the the Allied Powers of World War II. Russian Federation has occupied these northern islands of Japan since then. Russia has built military base, houses, schools, shops and seafood processing plants there.

      But South Sakhalin and the Kuril islands also have not been defined as the Russian Federation's territory yet, exactly, since the Treaty with Japan at San Francisco (1951) didn't define about the South Sakhalin and the Kuril islands as Russian's belongings.  ( See figures below. )

  Originaly native Japanese tribe called Ainu (it means Ainu people) lived in Sakhalin, the kuril Islands and called Ezo region in old days widely. Ezo region were called northern areas of Tohoku region of Main Island of the Japanese Archipelago and Hokkaido island and islands arround Hokkaido. People means word "Ezo" as the far northern areas of Japan in middle ages of Japanese history.

  In 18th, 19th century people from Main Island came up to Ezo region and began to cultivate land and lived there. So native habitants were pushed to East Hokkaido gradually.

  In 19th century due to Russo-Japanese treaty, Ainu who had lived South Sakhalin were forced to move to the Kuril islands and Hokkaido island.

  In 20th century at the time of near the end of World War II, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics's troops moved down the Kuril islands from Kamchatka Peninsul to the south as they fighting with Japanese troops. On Aug.15 In 1945 Japan accepted the surrender of the Allied Powers of World War II, after that in Sep. of 1945 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics's troops moved to these islands - Etorofu island, Kunashiri island, Shikotan island and Habomai islands. Soviet's troops forced out not only Japanese soldiers but also all the Japanese villagers of these islands. Soviet had occupied these islands 46 years. Soviet splited into Russia and several 14 independent republics in 1991. After that Russia has still occupied over Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai islands.

  Kaigara islet of the Habomai islands is just about 3.7km distance from Nossapu point of the Nemuro peninsula, and the fartherest island called Etorofu island and the distance between this island and Shiretoko point of Shiretoko peninsula is about 120km and the fartherest point of this island is about 305 km distance from Shiretoko point of Shiretoko peninsula.  (See Map above)

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2.  History of territorial transition

  The boundary of the two nations changes with the ages.

Year  &  Treaty
1855:Russo-Japanese Treaty of Amity (The Treaty of Shimoda ) Article2 summary:    Japan and Russia both recognize that the boundary of the two nations is concluded between Etorofu island and Urup island and northern part of the Kuril islands including Urup are Russian territory.    Japan and Russia both recognize that as for Sakhalin, two nations don't fix the boundary and continue the same conditions as before.
1875:Russo-Japanese Treaty (The Treaty of Saint Petersburg or Sankt Peterburg) (Sankt Peterburg:former Petrograd and Leningrad 1914-1991) summary:    Japan and Russia both recognize that Japan renounces the claim of all the right on Sakhalin in exchange for possessing all the Kuril islands from Urup island to the northernmost island.
1905:Portsmouth Peace Treaty Article9 summary:    Russia cedes the southern part of Sakhalin to Japan forever.  The fiftieth degree of north latitude is adopted as the territorial boundary.
1951:Treaty with Japan at San Francisco (San Francisco Peace Treaty) Article2 summary:   Japan renounces all right, title and claim to the Kurile Islands, and to the southern part of Sakhalin and the islands adjacent to it over which Japan acquired sovereignty as a consequence of the Treaty of Portsmouth 1905.   Japan obtained the southern part of Sakhalin in consequence of the Treaty of Portsmouth 1905 (See above)

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3.  Treaty with Japan at San Francisco(San Francisco Peace Treaty)

  I quate 'Chapter II : Territory'  from 'San Francisco Peace Treaty'.

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CHAPTER II

TERRITORY

• Article 2
• Japan recognizing the independence of Korea, renounces all right, title and claim to Korea, including the islands of Quelpart, Port Hamilton and Dagelet.
• Japan renounces all right, title and claim to Formosa and the Pescadores.
• Japan renounces all right, title and claim to the Kurile Islands, and to that portion of Sakhalin and the islands adjacent to it over which Japan acquired sovereignty as a consequence of the Treaty of Portsmouth of 5 September 1905.
• Japan renounces all right, title and claim in connection with the League of Nations Mandate System, and accepts the action of the United Nations Security Council of 2 April 1947, extending the trusteeship system to the Pacific Islands formerly under mandate to Japan.
• Japan renounces all claim to any right or title to or interest in connection with any part of the Antarctic area, whether deriving from the activities of Japanese nationals or otherwise.
• Japan renounces all right, title and claim to the Spratly Islands and to the Paracel Islands.

above quoted  
 ( Souce from  'Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan' )
 See  (Japan :  Treaty of Peace with Japan)

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4. Why the matter of the Kuril islands's territory was caused?
   Why Russia insists on the right of possession of the lands?

  There was the conference at Yalta in Crimea peninsula in USSR (now Ukraine), so called "the Yalta Conference" on Feb.4-Feb.11,1945. The talks were made among British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin.
  The important decisions were made but agreement remained secret until the end of World War II.The talks were on the matter of the deviding Germany, crimes trials, the reparations after Germany made unconditional surrender, on the matter of United Nations, on the matter of Polish presidensial election on a democratic basis with inclusive of democratic leaders from Poland and a government-in-exile's in London, on the matter of asking USSR for fighting against Japan, and so on.

  The USSR's acceptance was made under the secret promise that USSR regained South Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and the occupation area in Korea. Regarding of the disposal of Japan's holdings, other agreements were made that the port of Dairen should be internationalized, that Port Arthur should be restored to its status before the Russo - Japanese War in 1904 - 1905 as a Russian naval base, that the Manchurian railroads should be under joint Chinese - Soviet administration, and that the status quo in Outer Mongolia should be recognized.

(See)
The Crimea (Yalta) Conference, February 4-11, 1945 in The Avalon Project at Yale Law School A Decade of American Foreign Policy - Basic Documents 1941-1949

  But Stalin of USSR broke his promise that democratic elections would be held in Poland.
  USSR eliminated Democratic government persons and suppressed Democratic movements in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria.

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5. Peace Treaty between Japan and Russian Federation would be concluded if Russian gentleman becomes the President of Russian Fedaration.

  Peace Treaty between Japan and Russia has not concluded yet.

  As for territory issue, Russia claims that all the Kuril islands, including Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai islands, are within the Russian territory.  While Japan claims that only Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai islands shall be returned to Japan.

  There are a opinion that when USSR broke the promise at Yalta and suppressed Democratic movements in the east Europian nations, some agreements at Yalta and also some agreements on the Peace Treaty at San Francisco can be no longer effective.

  Suppose if all the Kuril islands are Russian's, then it is the same situations just as all the Aleution islands are U.S.'s., including Komandorski Islands.

  Human is mortal. Almost all creatures are mortal.
  Living creatures and the own cell and constituent elements inside the cell have always been fighting against the circumstances around them, with having adaptted some kind of new ability and having changed them and endured against severe circumstances for surviving cells themselves and body gathered by mass of cells since life appeared on the earth. It is tremendously long time in history.
  The living cells have adjusted themselves, for example, to the conditions around where they live on the earth. Some creatures have changed their own body system, their body shape, their body color, not to find easily by their predators or to feed food. Animals and plants have had immunity system to some virus. The living cells have evolved and life system has been succeeded from generation to generation.
  I think that the life balance on the earth or food circulating sistem will be dammaged easily by natural disasters or man-made disasters acted by various human activities, however, new balance will be kept for some time at the end. But the new balance is changing as time goes.
  We don't know how long human prosperity will last on the earth. If some virus get to have a capability to reproduce some strong drug-resistant killer virus, then the killer virus will endanger human existance. No one knows of it.

  Human life span is short.
  There are nations and people oppressed by a dictator and there people never allowed to declare their opinions against government. There are nations deploying nuclear weapons. As for such nations, I think it is not just only own domestic sovereign matter but this is the matter of human dignity respected highly by anybody and also this is now what threatens whole human on this planet.
  Dictator system must be changed in any countries. We don't need any nuclear weapons on the earth. People may think that nuclear weapon is the symbol of almighty power, but I don't think it is correct. Nuclear weapons are just like as a mask. A people wear a mask on his face, we can't see his face and what he is like under the mask. We don't trust such nations as wearing mask.

  I think that a plot by a outsider or a terrorist to aim to destroy the order of being ruled by economic money and by various powers of the world, a plot might be made with using the weapons where a outsider aims to attack some day. So this nuclear-weapon issue is a global issue. Now a nuclear weapon does not work as a strong deterrent to attack by enemy. Because terrorist groups understand that if they have a nuclear weapon and if they attack to a certain nuclear country by a nuclear weapon, the terrorists will never be attacked in retaliation by a nuclear weapon of the nuclear nation. Nuclear nations have to give up a idea of keeping nuclea weapons with making an agreement between nuclear nations immediately and break them and have to make only for peaceful use. If we don't try to take a real action for without nuclear weapons as soon as posible, then we will experience a tragic incident in history sooner or later.
  The nations which are governed and ruled by a military dictator or which have nuclear weapons are mentioned such as Kim Jong-il and North Korea, Than Shwe and Union of Myanmar, Mugabe and Republic of Zimbabwe, Hu Jintao and People's Republic of China, Medvedev and Russian Federation, United States of America, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, French Republic, State of Israel, India, Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
  I hope that on behalf of all the lives on earth and the human's future, those dictators and the nuclear weapons and those nations above mentioned should disappear from the earth, if they don't give up the idea of seeking their indivisual self-interest.

  On the matter of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, Habomai Islands, Japanese native Ainu residents of northern reigions in Japan had been living there since old days. Former USSR soldiers drove out all native people, just citizens from those islands by forces in World War II. They were nothing to do with soldiers.
  Japan never accepts dirty USSR's or Russian act on the matter of those islands above-mentioned, because Russia trampled the human dignity of the native people of Japan, even if Russia threatens Japan with a nuclear weapon.
  we shall overcome.