Tokyo Seeking Visa-Free Access to Southern Kurils for Japanese Businessmen

Japan is seeking to broaden visa-free exchanges with Russia to include representatives of the Japanese business circles in the list of eligible individuals, Japanese media report.

TOKYO (Sputnik) – Currently, only Japanese citizens who had previously lived on the disputed islands of Shikotan, Habomai, Iturup and Kunashir, or their relatives, can visit the area without a Russian visa.

The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said on Thursday that visa-free travel to the four Southern Kuril Islands could be allowed for Japanese businessmen, which would boost joint economic improvements in the area.

Earlier this month, Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said that measures on the simplification of the visa regime between Russia and Japan may be announced during the upcoming visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Japan.

Putin is expected to visit Japan on December 15. The countries are expected to sign agreements in a wide range of areas, including economy, culture, science and humanitarian issues.

The Russian-Japanese relations are tainted by the territorial dispute between the two countries. Japan lays claims to four Kuril Islands of Kunashir, Shikotan, Habomai and Iturup, which Russia considers to be its own territory, according to the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty that transferred the control of the islands to the Soviet Union. The dispute prevented Moscow and Tokyo from signing a peace treaty after World War II.