Publication

This paper analyzes the long standing territorial dispute between Moscow and Tokyo concerning four islands situated north-east of Hokkaido, which was further exacerbated by Russian military maneuvers held on two of these islands in August 2014. The author first contextualizes the dispute, both with regards to the Japanese sanctions against Russia after the 2014 Ukraine crisis and the various unsuccessful attempts to solve it bilaterally. He then argues that Japan can either impose stronger sanctions against Russia or negotiate their easing in exchange for action towards resolving the dispute.