Okinawa students visit Hokkaido to learn about disputed islands

Late last year, a group of junior high and high school students from Okinawa Prefecture visited the city of Nemuro, Hokkaido, to learn firsthand about issues related to disputed islands off Hokkaido that are controlled by Russia.

Called the Northern Territories in Japan, the four islands — Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai group of islets — were seized by Soviet forces in the closing days of World War II in 1945. The islands have been under Russian control ever since.

Over 80 years after the end of World War II, former Japanese residents of the islands remain unable to return to their hometowns.