The first Charter flight from Japan went to South Kurils
NAKASHIBETSU (Hokkaido, Japan), September 23 — RIA Novosti. The plane of the Russian airline “Aurora” departed on Saturday on a Charter flight from the Japanese island of Hokkaido to the southern Kuriles with a group of 70 of their former residents to visit native places and graves of their ancestors.
This flight from the airport to Nakashibetsu gave the first opportunity for them visa-free travel to travel by plane to the southern Kuril Islands, which Tokyo calls the “Northern territories”. The flight was preparing back in June, but was canceled due to thick fog. Now the weather was more favorable.
So far for visits to the southern Kuril Islands former inhabitants used marine transport, but in April of this year during the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Moscow, an agreement was reached on granting them the opportunity to visit the Islands without a visa by plane.
A group of Japanese in one day will visit Kunashir, which is separated from Hokkaido by about 45 kilometers, and then from Iturup. On two Islands, the participants plan to visit the graves of former Japanese residents. By evening, a Charter plane will return back to Nakashibetsu.
Visa-free exchange between residents of the Russian South Kuril Islands and Japan began in 1992 under an intergovernmental agreement to improve mutual understanding between peoples of the two countries, the decision on the conclusion of a peace Treaty between Russia and Japan. Visits are carried out on a national passport with a special liner, without visas.
The transfer of Japan of Islands of Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan and Habomai Tokyo is put forward as conditions for the conclusion with Russia the peace Treaty. The position of Moscow consists that southern Kuriles became part of the Soviet Union at the end of the Second world war and the Russian sovereignty over them has the appropriate international legal registration and not be questioned.