Japan protests Russia's declaration of NGO as undesirable organisation

Japan has protested to Russia over the declaration of the non-governmental organisation - the Union of Chishima and Habomai Islander - as an undesirable one.

The statement came from Japanese Cabinet’s Chief Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, who denied all the claims of the Russian General Prosecutor's Office, Kommersant informs.

The NGO claims that its goal is to "alienate parts of Russia's territory (the islands of Kunashir, Iturup and the Lesser Kuril Ridge".

"I am not in a position to comment on Russia's intentions, but the Chishima Residents Union is an organisation of former residents of the northern islands and their descendants that has long worked with public opinion in Japan and has led the movement for the signing of a peace treaty between Japan and Russia," Matsuno told a news conference.

He said the elderly former islanders "wish that the territorial issue would be resolved at least one day sooner and that grave visits would resume".

"On April 24, a presentation was made to the Russian side through diplomatic channels and a protest was made as this is unacceptable," the Japanese government secretary-general added.

The Prosecutor General's Office declared the organisation undesirable on the grounds that the NGO's activities threatened the foundations of the constitutional order and security of the Russian Federation and were aimed at violating the territorial integrity of the country.
A declaration that an NGO is undesirable entails restrictions, such as a ban on establishing subdivisions in Russia or terminating the work of existing ones, and criminal liability for cooperating with an undesirable organisation.

Japan disputes Russian sovereignty over the South Kuril Islands (Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group). They came under Russian control after the Second World War.
After the Japanese authorities joined anti-Russian sanctions, Russia gave up negotiations on the status of the Kuril Islands and a peace treaty in March 2022, and cancelled visa-free travel for Japanese to the Kuril Islands. Last year, Japan designated the South Kurils as "illegally occupied" for the first time since 2003.