Japan Only Country in the World to Question Outcome of WWII – Lavrov

Japan is the only country in the world that doubts the outcome of World War II, challenging Russia's ownership of the Kuril Islands, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — After World War II, the islands became part of the Soviet Union. However, Japan lays claim to the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan as well as the Habomai islets.

According to Lavrov, Japan accepts the outcomes of the war except for the matter of the Kuril Islands, despite a UN Charter which protects the post-war order from possible revisions by former Axis powers.

Specifically, it reads that "Nothing in the present Charter shall invalidate or preclude action, in relation to any state which during the Second World War has been an enemy of any signatory to the present Charter, taken or authorized as a result of that war by the Governments having responsibility for such action."

Moscow always points to the UN Charter in talks with Tokyo, "and there is nothing they can argue with, and we could say that Japan is the only state which casts doubts on the outcomes of World War II, nobody else does this," Lavrov said.

In 1956, Moscow and Tokyo agreed that the issue can only be settled only after the establishment of normal diplomatic relations. However, the two countries have still not signed a peace agreement.

In February, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to reclaim the islands.