根室に見る北方領土問題(上) : 冷戦後のパラダイム転換を生きる街

Japan has been arguing with the Soviet Union/Russia about the ownership of the Northern Territories for over 50 years. Within the world structure of the cold war both countries failed to reach a compromise on this issue. The article is devoted to clarifying the history and the essence of territorial problem from the point of view of people in Nemuro, where 70% of ex-inhabitants of the Northern Territories still live. With the reform of the Soviet Union/Russia and its change of diplomatic policies Nemuro began to have contacts with the Northern Territories, and nowadays some economic cooperation exists between Nemuro and these islands