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NHK
4 days ago
- Politics
- NHK
Ex-residents of Japan's Northern Territories honor ancestors in ceremony at sea
Former residents of four islands that Japan calls the Northern Territories have offered prayers for their ancestors at a ceremony held at sea. Russia controls the islands. Japan claims them. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says the islands were illegally occupied after World War Two. About 70 people, including former residents and their families, set off from Nemuro Port in Hokkaido on Sunday. They traveled on a ship built specifically for former islanders to visit the islands. Before their departure, Matsumoto Yuzo, the head of a group of former island residents, said they have been unable to pay respects to their ancestors in the way they want to. He said he hopes the ceremony will boost momentum toward a resumption of visits to the graves of ancestors on the islands. Grave visits have been put on hold due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and other factors. There is no prospect for a resumption. The ocean memorial ceremony started in 2022. It is organized by the former islanders' group, the Hokkaido government and another organization. The organizers plan to hold six more ceremonies this year. Some will include trips off the coasts of the Habomai Islands and Kunashiri Island.
Japan Times
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Memorial services at sea to be held off disputed islands
The Hokkaido government has announced that memorial services at sea will be held between July 20 and Aug. 21 for former residents of the four Russian-held northwestern Pacific islands claimed by Japan to mourn their ancestors. In Japan, the four islands, which were seized by the former Soviet Union from Japan in the closing days of World War II, are collectively called the Northern Territories. Held for the fourth consecutive year, the memorial services aboard a ship reflect the wishes of former residents and successors to offer condolences to their ancestors as close as possible to their homeland, at a time when exchange initiatives, including a visa-free visit program, have been halted amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Hokkaido government said Tuesday that it will run the memorial services jointly with a league of former residents and others. Five of the scheduled seven memorial service sessions will be one-day trips in which participants will mourn their ancestors as they face the Habomai group of islets and the southern part of Kunashiri Island, both in the group of claimed islands, aboard a ship named Etopirika that will depart from and return to the port of Nemuro in eastern Hokkaido. The other two will involve an overnight stay on board, with participants offering prayers toward the northern part of Kunashiri Island.
