Russian Patrol Kills Japanese Fisherman

Japanese officials announced that they demand an official apology, as well as compensation, from their Russian counterparts, following the tragic event involving the shooting and killing of a Japanese fisherman by a Russian patrol unit, within the waters of the much disputed, controversial Kuril Islands.

According to a statement issued by the spokesman for the Japanese Coast Guard, Kazuhiro Nakaya, the Russian patrol had initially seized a 4.5 tone Japanese crab fishing boat near the Japanese northern coast and shot the fisherman dead. Three men who belonged to the crew of the boat were also wounded in the dramatic incident.

On the other hand, Nakaya admitted to the fact that special approval is indeed needed to fish in those waters, yet that was not a justifiable reason to kill a person, even if the respective fishing boat had no proper official papers that would have allowed it to fish. The Japanese official added that it was still unclear at that moment whether or not the boat had been performing proper operations in the area.

The boat was driven to one of the four Kuril Islands near Japan's northern Hokkaido Island, because it represents one of the main objects in the investigation initiated by the Russian authorities.

The case has already sprung great controversy in Japan, with the director-general of the Foreign Ministry's European Affairs Bureau, Chikhaito Harada, stating: "There is no way we can tolerate this unfounded situation to occur within Japanese waters", highlighting his country's official political standpoint on the matter.

On the other hand, the Russian Ambassador in Japan announced his Japanese counterparts that he would send their message to the Moscow administration; however, he did outline the fact that it had not been established yet if the Japanese vessel was indeed in the Japanese territorial waters or not, and as far as he is concerned, the ship could have been in the Russian-controlled waters, too.

The history of the Kuril Islands and the subsequent Russian-Japanese political row over them goes back a long time, till immediately after the Second World War, when the Soviet Army seized them and expelled all Japanese citizens. On the other hand, Japan still claims that the islands belong to it and the Russian occupation is illegal.