Meaning and Location
The Habomai islets are a small group of islands and rocky islets located off the northeastern coast of Hokkaido, Japan, near the Nemuro Peninsula.
They are administered by Russia as part of Sakhalin Oblast but are claimed by Japan as part of its Northern Territories.
Position in the Russia–Japan Dispute
The four disputed southern territories are:
The Habomai group is geographically closest to Hokkaido and is much smaller than Iturup or Kunashir.
Historical Background
The islands came under Soviet control in 1945, at the end of World War II.
Japan has continued to maintain that the Habomai islets are part of its inherent territory and were not included in the Kuril Islands it renounced after the war.
Russia, by contrast, treats its sovereignty over the territories as an outcome of the post-war settlement.
1956 Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration
The Habomai islets are especially important because of the 1956 Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration.
Under that declaration, the Soviet Union agreed that after the conclusion of a peace treaty it would transfer:
- Shikotan
- Habomai islets
to Japan.
However, no final peace treaty was concluded, and the transfer never occurred.
This remains the closest the two sides came to a formal territorial compromise.
Strategic and Economic Importance
Although the Habomai islets are small, they are important because of:
- proximity to Hokkaido;
- surrounding fishing grounds;
- control over nearby maritime areas;
- their role in the wider territorial settlement.
Their importance is therefore primarily:
- diplomatic;
- legal;
- fisheries-related;
rather than based on large-scale military infrastructure.
Current Status
Russia continues to exercise effective control, while Japan maintains its sovereignty claim.
The deterioration in Russia-Japan relations after 2022 has significantly reduced prospects for renewed peace-treaty negotiations or territorial compromise.
Conclusion
The Habomai islets are the smallest of the territories disputed between Russia and Japan, but they carry major diplomatic significance because the Soviet Union had agreed in 1956 to transfer them, along with Shikotan, to Japan after a peace treaty. That settlement was never completed, leaving the issue unresolved.
