Hirokazu Matsuno, Secretary General of the Government of Japan, called unacceptable the measures taken by Russia in connection with fishing around the four islands of the southern Kuriles, or, as they are commonly called in Japan, the “northern territories.”
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“The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on January 19 that it is currently unable to agree on the timing of intergovernmental consultations based on an agreement on fishing in the northern territories, which are held once a year. The measures taken by Russia are unacceptable. The Japanese government insists that both As soon as possible, Russia agreed to hold intergovernmental consultations so that the 2023 thought could begin,” Matsuno said during a press conference on Monday.
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Earlier, the MP from the Liberal Democratic Party Takako Suzuki called the issue of fishing in the Kuriles “a matter of life and death for Japanese fishermen.”
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Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Tetsuro Nomura, in response to her question about whether the fishermen will be provided with state assistance, noted that “fishing under the Fisheries Agreement in the Northern Territories is very important for the economy of the region, as well as for Japan “.
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As the Russian Foreign Ministry reported earlier, the Russian diplomatic department informed Tokyo that, in the context of the anti-Russian measures taken by the Japanese government, it cannot agree on holding intergovernmental consultations on the implementation of an agreement on cooperation in the field of marine resources fishing in the southern Kuril Islands.
