The Russian-Japanese Territorial Dispute in the Japanese Political Discourse in 1991-2012

The paper examines the evolution of the Japanese political discourse regarding the Kuril islands territorial issue during the period 1991-2012. Geopolitical changes related to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the development of bilateral dialogue between Russia and Japan are taken into consideration. While using a variety of sources, such as the policy speeches of the Japanese Prime Ministers, speeches of the Foreign Ministers of Japan, dossiers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and public opinion surveys, as well as works of scholars from Russia, Japan, and other countries, the study analyzed the political discourse in the context of the development of the issue resolution using discourse analysis and narrative analysis. It shows the fluctuating nature of the political discourse, which depended on the progress in bilateral dialogue regarding the question. The progress in talks between the countries was at its highest level during the periods of 1991-1992, 1993-1994, 1996-2001, and 2003. The discourse in Japan during this time was more moderate and employed neutral phrasings with the idea of settling the dispute, yet, despite the changes in discourse, the basic position of Japan remained the same with a demand for the transfer of all four Kuril islands. The discourse of 2006-2012 reflected a gradual development of fatigue in Japan in relation to attempts of reaching a compromise. Thus, by the end of 2012 Japanese political discourse did not reflect the possibility for a qualitative improvement in dialogue with Russia.