Last year Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi made a big deal of going to the north tip of Japan to view [ from a distance ] the four islands annexed by Russia. At the same time he announced Russian President Vladimir Putin would be visiting Japan in early 2005 and that he [ Koizumi ] would pursue the Russians for return of the islands. The latest news from the Japan Times 12 March 2005 is that President Putin is draging his feet and the Japan trip is in limbo. One critic of the Japanese government says they are making to much noise by demanding that Russia hand over the islands forthwith or at least admit Japan's sovereignty. If the Nippons think President Putin is going to hand back those four islands [ or even two of them as suggested ] then they can think again. The Russians, along with the Chinese and Koreans have long memories and Prime Minister Koizumi and his pals would do well to realise this.
Prince of Dzun.