On April 8th, the Kremlin spokesman stated that Russia sees no reason to pursue talks on a long-delayed peace treaty with Japan to officially end World War II, citing Tokyo’s unfriendly stance toward Moscow.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “there are no contacts with the Japanese authorities at the moment.” This was in response to a recently released report by the Japanese Foreign Ministry, which stated that Tokyo remains committed to signing a peace treaty and reclaiming the disputed islands
“You know that Tokyo has rushed to fully join in all unfriendly and hostile steps towards our country,” Peskov added, referencing Japan’s alignment with Western sanctions targeting Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Given the Japanese sanctions on Moscow, it is “hardly possible to talk about the possibility of any negotiations”, according to Peskov.
The two countries have never officially signed a peace treaty to end World War II. Despite over 70 years passing, only discussions have taken place. The Soviet Union – Russia’s predecessor – only declared war on Japan within the final month of the global conflict. During that time, however, the Soviet Union seized a chain of islands from Japan known as the Kuril Islands. Both nations continue to claim sovereignty over them.
After World War II came the Cold War, during which Japan became a crucial ally of the United States. In 1952, the Treaty of San Francisco re-established official peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers. However, the Soviet Union did not sign the treaty, arguing that it required Japan to “renounce all right, title, and claim to the Kuril Islands,” without formally transferring sovereignty to the Soviet Union. While an armistice was signed between the two countries, a peace treaty was never finalized.
Map of the Kuril Islands via Vajiram & Ravi.
In 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia withdrew from ongoing peace treaty discussions with Japan. The Russian Foreign Ministry broke off negotiations, citing Japanese aggression through its sanctions. Russia also ended a visa-free regime that had allowed for Japanese citizens to visit the disputed islands – many of whom would visit their ancestors’ graves there. That same year, for the first time, Japan publicly insisted that the Kuril Islands were under illegal occupation.
The peace treaty remains yet to be signed due to global tensions and the dispute over the Kuril Islands. Japan maintains that the islands are an occupied territory, while Russia claims them as part of Russian sovereign territory. A poll published in November found that 74 percent of Russians oppose handing over any territory, even if it would lead to a peace treaty with Japan.
Featured image courtesy of Kirill Kudaryavtsev, Reuters (2025).
