Could Japan and Russia be close to ending the Kuril Islands dispute?

Between Japan and Russia in the Sea of Okhotsk, lie the Kuril Islands. Ever since 1945, when the Soviet Union took over these territories, their ownership has been hotly contested between Japan and Russia, which has even stopped the countries from signing an official peace treaty ending the second world war. But recent meetings in January between Vladimir Putin and Shinzo Abe suggest for the first time in over seventy years, the two countries may be closer than before to brokering an agreement. But for any deal to be made, Putin will face three main obstacles.

One of Russia’s main arguments against the return of the islands is that any negotiations over territory could set an uncomfortable precedent for the renegotiations of other lands ceded to Russia during the second world war, such as the exclave of Kaliningrad near Lithuania, and the region of Karelia – a territory on the border with Finland.