Happy Times
08-16-06, 01:34 AM
A Japanese fisherman has been shot dead by a Russian patrol boat near a chain of disputed islands, media reports say.
Japan's foreign ministry demanded the release of three other fishermen who were detained by the Russian boat and taken to one of the islands.
Both countries lay claim to the four disputed islands, which Russia calls the southern Kurils and Japan the Northern Territories.
The dispute has stopped the two nations signing a peace treaty to end WWII.
The islands were seized by the Soviet Union at the end of the war in 1945.
Russia has said it will hand over some of the islands to Japan, but Tokyo insists all four should be returned.
Rare shooting
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40026000/gif/_40026512_jap_kuril_islands_map203.gif
According to Japanese press reports, the Russian patrol boat is said to have opened fire on the Japanese vessel and later taken it, along with its crew, to one of the disputed islands.
But the Russian coast guard insisted that the vessel defied several orders to stop and made dangerous manoeuvres, according to the Itar-Tass news agency.
The coast guard confirmed that shots had been fired and that a dead man had been found on board, but said the cause of death was not yet clear, the agency said.
The BBC's Chris Hogg, in Tokyo, says fishing disputes are common in the area, and Russian border patrols often try to capture Japanese fishermen.
But the last time a Japanese citizen was shot dead by a Soviet vessel was nearly 50 years ago. Japanese officials called in a Russian diplomat to demand an explanation. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4797021.stm
Japan's foreign ministry demanded the release of three other fishermen who were detained by the Russian boat and taken to one of the islands.
Both countries lay claim to the four disputed islands, which Russia calls the southern Kurils and Japan the Northern Territories.
The dispute has stopped the two nations signing a peace treaty to end WWII.
The islands were seized by the Soviet Union at the end of the war in 1945.
Russia has said it will hand over some of the islands to Japan, but Tokyo insists all four should be returned.
Rare shooting
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40026000/gif/_40026512_jap_kuril_islands_map203.gif
According to Japanese press reports, the Russian patrol boat is said to have opened fire on the Japanese vessel and later taken it, along with its crew, to one of the disputed islands.
But the Russian coast guard insisted that the vessel defied several orders to stop and made dangerous manoeuvres, according to the Itar-Tass news agency.
The coast guard confirmed that shots had been fired and that a dead man had been found on board, but said the cause of death was not yet clear, the agency said.
The BBC's Chris Hogg, in Tokyo, says fishing disputes are common in the area, and Russian border patrols often try to capture Japanese fishermen.
But the last time a Japanese citizen was shot dead by a Soviet vessel was nearly 50 years ago. Japanese officials called in a Russian diplomat to demand an explanation. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4797021.stm