Protest Rally is Due to Take Place in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Today

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK. July 10. VOSTOK-MEDIA – Protest rally against Japan’s North Kuril Islands claims is due to take place at Chekhov-Centre , Yuzhn-Sakhalinsk today, on July 10.
According to Sergey Ponomarev, Vice-Chairman of Committee for International, Foreign Economic and Interregional Relations of the Sakhalin Oblast, Head of Russian-Japanese Cooperation Department, rally organizers, a community group, are protesting against the Japanese Parliament adopting amendments to the Law on Special Measures Aimed to Resolve the Issue of the Northern Territories claiming the Russia Kuril Islands as an integral part of Japan. Visa-free trips for Russian citizens residing on the central and southern Kuril Islands and Japanese nationals are offered by way of compensation provided that those territories are annexed back to Japan.
Particular actions from Japanese side followed adoption of the amendments, stated S. Ponomarev. So, a group of Japanese tourists that arrived on the Kuril Islands on July 1-2 on a visa-free exchange basis illegally placed a signboard with the text in Japanese saying they visited the island in July, 2009.
Local authorities have already dismantled the sign and at the present time suspension of visa-free exchanges with Japan is under consideration at municipal level.
The rally begins at 17:00. Everybody who shares organizers’ point of view is welcome to take part in the rally.