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Kelp gathering off Hokkaido begins

KUSHIRO, Japan - Kelp is dried in Nemuro, Hokkaido, on June 21, 2014, as this year's kelp gathering in waters off the Habomai Islands, Japan's Northern Territories controlled by Russia, started the same day.

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Kelp gathering off Hokkaido begins

KUSHIRO, Japan - Harvested kelp is unloaded in Nemuro, Hokkaido, on June 21, 2014, as this year's kelp gathering in waters off the Habomai Islands, Japan's Northern Territories controlled by Russia, started the same day, about three weeks later than normal due to the weather.

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Memorial service held for ancestors on Habomai group island

SAPPORO, Japan - A memorial service is held for ancestors at a cemetery on Suishojima in the Habomai islet group, one of the four Russian-controlled, Japanese-claimed islands off Hokkaido, on Aug. 3, 2014, attended by a group of former islanders visiting their family graves on the disputed islands. (Photo by accompanying press)

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Aerial image of Habomai Islands

TOKYO, Japan - Photo shows an aerial image taken in February 2009 of Suisho Island (back), one of the Habomai group of isles among the disputed island territories off Hokkaido. The islands are called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia.

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Russian Orthodox saint statue erected on disputed island

MOSCOW, Russia - Photo of a 3-meter-high saint statue erected by Russia on Suisho Island, one of the small islets in the Habomai group of islands, on July 24. Japan has long called for the return of the Habomai islet group together with three larger islands off Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island.

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Mori observes disputed islands off Hokaido

NEMURO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori looks at the Habomai group of islets through a telescope April 7 from Cape Nosappu. Mori also observed the Habomai and three other disputed islands off eastern Hokkaido aboard a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter. Mori held a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late March in Irkutsk, eastern Siberia, to try to settle with Russia issues involving the islands.

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Hashimoto flies by islands in Japan-Russia territorial row

CAPE NOSAPPU, Japan - Photo shows Ryutaro Hashimoto, state minister on issues pertaining to the Northern Territories, taking pictures of the Habomai group of isles, one of four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido that Japan claims, at Cape Nossapu on Feb. 17. He took an aerial observation tour of the islands. Boarding a helicopter at Nakashibetsu airport in eastern Hokkaido, Hashimoto saw them from Japanese airspace.

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Initial return of Shikotan, Habomai only solution: envoy

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Ambassador to Russia Minoru Tamba speaks in an interview with Kyodo News on Feb. 16. Tamba said that the initial return to Japan of Shikotan Island and the Habomai islet group of all the Russian-held islands is the only way to solve the decades-old territorial dispute, which has prevented the two sides signing a peace treaty.

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3,000 pledge more efforts for return of Russian-held islands

NEMURO, Japan - About 3,000 people from 129 organizations from across Japan shout in Russian ''Return the four islands to Japan'' in a rally held in Nemuro, eastern Hokkaido, on Oct. 1. The rally is the largest ever staged by groups working for the return of four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido -- Etorofu, Kunashiri and Shikotan islands and the Habomai group of islets.

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Ex-islanders call for early return of islands off Hokkaido during rally in Tokyo

Japanese former residents of Russian-held islands off Hokkaido and local municipal government officials appeal for their early return to Japan during a march in Tokyo's Ginza area on Dec. 1, 2022. The islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group were seized by the Soviet Union after Japan surrendered in World War II in August 1945.

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Ex-islanders call for early return of islands off Hokkaido during rally in Tokyo

Japanese former residents of Russian-held islands off Hokkaido and local municipal government officials appeal for their early return to Japan during a meeting in Tokyo's Hibiya Park on Dec. 1, 2022. The islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group were seized by the Soviet Union after Japan surrendered in World War II in August 1945.

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Ex-islanders call for early return of islands off Hokkaido during rally in Tokyo

Japanese former residents of Russian-held islands off Hokkaido and local municipal government officials appeal for their early return to Japan during a march in Tokyo's Ginza area on Dec. 1, 2022. The islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group were seized by the Soviet Union after Japan surrendered in World War II in August 1945.

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Russian Orthodox saint statue erected on disputed island

MOSCOW, Russia - Photo of a 3-meter-high saint statue erected by Russia on Suisho Island, one of the small islets in the Habomai group of islands, on July 24. Japan has long called for the return of the Habomai islet group together with three larger islands off Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island. (Kyodo)

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Around the border

The Soviet-Japanese agreement allows us to fish in the Habomai Islands. In the Lee Line, we fished under the fear of capture. In Okinawa, there is an island inside a base. 　 Habomai Islands on the Nemuro Peninsula at the eastern end of Hokkaido, fishing boats departing, fishing boats entering Soviet waters, Soviet surveillance boat (June 22, 1962), family left behind after being captured, boats returning from fishing, drying kelp, fishing grounds on the Li Line, fishing, landing large quantities of fish, U.S. base in Okinawa, farming U.S. base in Okinawa, farming, sugar cane production, drought, people tilling the soil, miscellaneous street vendors, Naha's Kokusai Street, show windows, women dancing traditional dances, foreigners walking along Kokusai Street, children playing in the sea. Date of shooting unknown, release date: August 16, 1963.

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The Northern Territories: Islands That Have Yet to Return

As Japan and the Soviet Union continue to disagree over the ownership of the Northern Territories, a caravan launches a campaign. 　 A caravan of people demanding the return of the Northern Territories visits Secretary of Internal Affairs and Communications Inamura, shaking his hand in encouragement; scenes at Cape Nosappu; people peering through binoculars at the Northern Territories in the distance; scenes of talks between Japan and the Soviet Union; the caravan travels around the country; scenes at a meeting in Nagoya demanding the return of the Northern Territories; greetings from Aichi Governor Nakaya Yoshiaki; and more. Fishermen fishing for kelp. Date of shooting unknown, release date: September 15, 1984.

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The Northern Territories: Aiming for an Early Return

Local people hand in a letter of request to Prime Minister Ohira Masayoshi to appeal for the return of the Northern Territories. 　 <Caption> The scenery of Cape Nosappu, people peering through binoculars at the Northern Territories in the distance, the governors of Hokkaido visiting the Diet to demand the early return of the Northern Territories, the handing of a letter of request to Prime Minister Ohira, and government officials listening to appeals for the return of the Northern Territories. Date of shooting unknown, Date of release: February 23, 1979.

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PM Abe eyes progress in territorial dispute with Russia

File photo taken January 2013 shows the Habomai group of islets (above), off Japan's Cape Nosappu (below), which are claimed by Japan, along with three other Russian-held islands. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe aims to arrange mutual visits between the two countries with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2016, with the aim of resolving the long-standing bilateral territorial dispute. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Waki appointed head of Chishima, Habomai residents' league

Kimio Waki, former mayor of Rausu town in Hokkaido, speaks at a meeting of the League of Residents of Chishima and Habomai Islands Inc. in Sapporo on May 25, 2015, after he succeeded Toshio Koizumi as its director. The 91-year-old Koizumi, who led the group of former inhabitants of the islands in the Northern Territories for about 23 years, left the post due to his age. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Ex-residents of disputed island offer prayers on boat

Former Japanese residents on islands off Japan's Hokkaido offer prayers to their ancestors on a boat in waters off Hokkaido's Nemuro in the direction for Taraku Island of the disputed Habomai island group, claimed by Japan but administered by Russia, on Sept. 1, 2015. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Ex-residents of islands meet press after Japan-Russia talks

Hirotoshi Kawata (R), deputy director of the League of Residents of Chishima and Habomai Islands, attend a press conference with Yasuji Tsunoka, also from the organization, in Nemuro in the northernmost Japanese prefecture on Sept. 29, 2015, in response to the bilateral talks between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The organization comprises former residents on Russian-held islands off Hokkaido which are also claimed by Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Waki, new head of Chishima, Habomai residents' league

Kimio Waki, former mayor of Rausu town in Hokkaido, speaks in Sapporo on May 25, 2015, after he succeeded Toshio Koizumi as new director of the League of Residents of Chishima and Habomai Islands Inc. The group consists of former inhabitants of the disputed islands in Japan's Northern Territories currently administered by Russia. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Aerial image of Habomai Islands

TOKYO, Japan - Photo shows an aerial image taken in February 2009 of Suisho Island (back), one of the Habomai group of isles among the disputed island territories off Hokkaido. The islands are called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia. (Kyodo)

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Memorial service held for ancestors on Habomai group island

SAPPORO, Japan - A memorial service is held for ancestors at a cemetery on Suishojima in the Habomai islet group, one of the four Russian-controlled, Japanese-claimed islands off Hokkaido, on Aug. 3, 2014, attended by a group of former islanders visiting their family graves on the disputed islands. (Photo by accompanying press) (Kyodo)

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Kelp gathering off Hokkaido begins

KUSHIRO, Japan - Harvested kelp is unloaded in Nemuro, Hokkaido, on June 21, 2014, as this year's kelp gathering in waters off the Habomai Islands, Japan's Northern Territories controlled by Russia, started the same day, about three weeks later than normal due to the weather. (Kyodo)

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Abe, Putin to launch talks on joint activities on disputed isles

A fishing boat (L) and a Japan Coast Guard patrol vessel sail off Nemuro in Japan's northernmost main island Hokkaido on Dec. 16, 2016, with Suisho Island, part of the Habomai group, visible in the background. Japan and Russia agreed the same day to launch talks on joint economic activities on Russian-held islands, including the Habomai group, at the center of a territorial dispute, as Japan seeks to resolve the row and sign a post-World War II peace treaty with Russia. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Disputed Russian-held islands off Hokkaido

Photo taken Jan. 30, 2019, from a Kyodo News airplane shows Russian-held, Japanese-claimed islands off Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido. At the bottom is Cape Nosappu in Hokkaido, and in the center is the Habomai islet group. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Disputed Russian-held islands off Hokkaido

Photo taken Jan. 30, 2019, from a Kyodo News airplane shows Russian-held, Japanese-claimed islands off Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido. Seen in the center is the Habomai islet group, with Shikotan above. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Ex-islanders return home after visiting ancestors' graves

Former residents of disputed islands off Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido return to Nemuro on Sept. 1, 2017, after visiting their ancestors' graves on the Habomai islet group. The islands -- called the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan -- were seized by the Soviet Union in 1945 when Japan surrendered to end World War II. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Ex-islanders return home after visiting ancestors' graves

Former residents of disputed islands off Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido return to Nemuro on Sept. 1, 2017, after visiting their ancestors' graves on the Habomai islet group. The islands -- called the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan -- were seized by the Soviet Union in 1945 when Japan surrendered to end World War II. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Ex-islanders to visit Habomai to see family graves

Former residents of disputed islands off Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido leave for the Habomai islet group from Nemuro on Aug. 30, 2017, to visit their ancestors' graves. The islands -- called the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan -- were seized by the Soviet Union in 1945 when Japan surrendered to end World War II. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Abe, Putin to launch talks on joint activities on disputed isles

Suisho Island, part of the Habomai group, is seen on Dec. 16, 2016, from Nemuro on Japan's northernmost main island Hokkaido. Japan and Russia agreed the same day to launch talks on joint economic activities on the four Russian-held, Japan-claimed islands, including the Habomai group, as Japan seeks to resolve the territorial row and sign a post-World War II peace treaty with Russia. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Abe, Putin to meet in hot spring resort, territorial row in focus

File photo taken Dec. 3, 2016, shows the Habomai islet group off Cape Nosappu (L in bottom) in Nemuro on the eastern tip of Hokkaido. The islet group is among the four islands held by Russia and claimed by Japan. The photo was taken ahead of the Dec. 15-16 visit to Japan by Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a territorial dispute over the islands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Abe, Putin to meet in hot spring resort, territorial row the focus

Kaigara Island, part of the Habomai group of islets, is seen from Cape Nosappu on Japan's northernmost main island Hokkaido on Dec. 14, 2016. In the foreground is a "prayer flame" that burns in hope of a return of the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group from Russia. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Japan, Russian leaders expected to discuss territorial row

Photo taken Dec. 3, 2016, from a Kyodo News airplane shows Habomai islet group, one of four Russian-held, Japan-claimed islands off Japan's northernmost main island Hokkaido. The decades-old territorial row will be on high agenda when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe holds a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Japan in mid-December. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Japan, Russian leaders expected to discuss territorial row

Photo taken Dec. 3, 2016, from a Kyodo News airplane shows Habomai islet group, one of four Russian-held, Japan-claimed islands off Japan's northernmost main island Hokkaido. The decades-old territorial row will be on high agenda when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe holds a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Japan in mid-December. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Mori observes disputed islands off Hokaido

NEMURO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori looks at the Habomai group of islets through a telescope April 7 from Cape Nosappu. Mori also observed the Habomai and three other disputed islands off eastern Hokkaido aboard a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter. Mori held a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late March in Irkutsk, eastern Siberia, to try to settle with Russia issues involving the islands.

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Mori observes disputed islands off Hokaido

NEMURO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori looks at the Habomai group of islets through a telescope April 7 from Cape Nosappu. Mori also observed the Habomai and three other disputed islands off eastern Hokkaido aboard a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter. Mori held a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late March in Irkutsk, eastern Siberia, to try to settle with Russia issues involving the islands.

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Hashimoto flies by islands in Japan-Russia territorial row

CAPE NOSAPPU, Japan - Photo shows Ryutaro Hashimoto, state minister on issues pertaining to the Northern Territories, taking pictures of the Habomai group of isles, one of four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido that Japan claims, at Cape Nossapu on Feb. 17. He took an aerial observation tour of the islands. Boarding a helicopter at Nakashibetsu airport in eastern Hokkaido, Hashimoto saw them from Japanese airspace.

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Initial return of Shikotan, Habomai only solution: envoy

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Ambassador to Russia Minoru Tamba speaks in an interview with Kyodo News on Feb. 16. Tamba said that the initial return to Japan of Shikotan Island and the Habomai islet group of all the Russian-held islands is the only way to solve the decades-old territorial dispute, which has prevented the two sides signing a peace treaty.

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3,000 pledge more efforts for return of Russian-held islands

NEMURO, Japan - About 3,000 people from 129 organizations from across Japan shout in Russian ''Return the four islands to Japan'' in a rally held in Nemuro, eastern Hokkaido, on Oct. 1. The rally is the largest ever staged by groups working for the return of four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido -- Etorofu, Kunashiri and Shikotan islands and the Habomai group of islets.