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Japan officially declares Russia aggressor state

24 November 2009 12:55 (UTC +04:00)

Following the four-day discussions, the government adopted the document confirming that Russian Federation occupied South Kuril Islands.
â€œRussian Federation continues occupying the four northern islands. Under these circumstances, our citizens can not travel to these islands, because of Russiaâ€™s territorial claims. Russiaâ€™s position does not coincide with our position on the northern territories and there is no change in this situation,â€ the document says.
According to the document, Tokyo allows the Japanese to travel to South Kuril Islands to visit the graves and relatives within the framework of a visa-free exchange.

The Kuril Islands were put under the control of the USSR after the World War II. Japan continues claims for four the islands. Though the two countries signed a declaration to end the war in 1956, peace agreement has not been signed yet.