Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he hoped to sign a peace treaty with Russia after resolving the territorial dispute over the four northern islands. However, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev said that according to the Russian Constitution, the territorial issue has been resolved and does not care about Japan's feelings about the four northern islands. He also stressed that Russia will continue to develop the South Kuril Islands and deploy new ** on the islands.
The four northern islands are territories under Russia's de facto control, and Japan hopes to be able to jointly divide the islands. However, Russia insisted on not budging and even held military exercises on the island to warn Japan. Medvedev visited the four northern islands three times, showing his tough attitude towards Japan. Although he had previously taken a pro-Western stance on Japan, he had never been very kind to Japan.
Although Putin has never been to the four northern islands, Medvedev has landed on the islands several times, in 2010, 2012 and 2015. Therefore, it is understandable that he has taken a tough stance on the issue of the four northern islands. Recently, Japan has come under pressure from both China and Russia on the issue of territorial disputes.
The fact that a Japanese fishing boat, the Tsurumaru, has repeatedly illegally intruded into waters near China's Diaoyu Islands and belongs to Japan's Senkaku Island Guardian Association, shows its provocative significance. With the deepening of Sino-Russian military cooperation, the Chinese and Russian militaries have carried out a number of joint operations, including sea patrols and strategic air patrols.
It should be noted that although China has assigned the four northern islands to Japan and marked them on the official map, in October 2021, Chinese officials mentioned the "South Kuril Islands" when talking about the four northern islands. This could mean a change in China's attitude on the issue of the four northern islands. Therefore, it is interesting to see whether China's official attitude will change further in the future.
In general, with the deepening of comprehensive cooperation between China and Russia and the coordination of the two countries in international affairs, Japan will face increasing pressure, which is an irreversible trend. If Japan takes a bigger step on the issue of the Diaoyu Islands, we may see the term "four northern islands" changed to "South Kuril Islands".