Habomai Islands

The Habomai Islands (Japanese: 歯舞群島, romanized: Habomai guntō; Russian: Хабомаи, romanized: Khabomai) are a group of uninhabited islets (but for the Russian guards stationed there)^[1] in the southernmost Kuril Islands.

Habomai Islands

Disputed islands
Habomai Rocks from space
Habomai Islands
Other names	歯舞群島 (Japanese) Малые Курилы (Russian)
Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	43°30′N 146°8′E
Archipelago	Kuril Islands
Total islands	10 + several rocks
Area	100 km2 (39 sq mi)
Administration
Russia
Federal subject	Sakhalin Oblast
District	Yuzhno-Kurilsky
Claimed by
Japan
Prefecture	Hokkaido
Subprefecture	Nemuro
Demographics
Population	0

The islands have been under Soviet/Russian administration since the 1945 invasion by the Soviet Union near the end of World War II. But together with Iturup (Etorofu), Kunashir (Kunashiri), and Shikotan, the islands are claimed by Japan.

History

Russian administered Yuzhno-Kurilsky District. The bottom left of the red-shaded area is the Habomai Islands. The dark grey area is Hokkaido, while the light grey area is the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Map including Habomi Shotō (DMA, 1990)

In the fifteenth century, the Matsumae clan made efforts to administer the islands; by 1644 the islands had been mapped as Japanese territories.^[2]

In 1732 the islands were mapped during the Russian Great Eastern Expedition.

The Treaty of Shimoda, signed by Russia and Japan in 1855, recognised Japanese ownership of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and the Habomai Islands.^[3]

The Habomai Islands were occupied by Soviet forces in the last few days of World War II. The islands were eventually annexed by the Soviet Union, which deported all the island residents to Japan.^[3] Moscow claimed the islands as part of a war-time agreement between the Allies (Yalta Agreement), which provided for the transfer of the Chishima (Kurile) Islands to the USSR in return for its participation in the Pacific War. However, Japan maintains that the Habomai Islands are not part of the Kuriles and are in fact part of Hokkaido prefecture. On May 26, 1955, the United States submitted an application for proceedings against the Soviet Union. As part of the proceedings, the United States questioned the validity of the Soviet Union's claim to the Habomai Islands.^[4]

In 1956, after difficult negotiations, the Soviet Union agreed to cede the Habomai to Japan, along with Shikotan, after the conclusion of a peace treaty between the two countries.^[5] As the treaty was never concluded, the islands remained under Soviet jurisdiction. However, the promise of a two-island solution (for the purpose of simplicity, the Habomai rocks count as one island) has been renewed in the Soviet-Japanese, and later Russo-Japanese negotiations. Formerly home to a Japanese fishing community, the islands are now uninhabited except for the Russian border guard outpost.

View of the Habomai Islands from Cape Nosappu (March 26, 2005).

List of islands

Island	Japanese name	Russian name	Ainu transcription(s)	Area km2	Highest point m	Latitude N	Longitude E	Distance from Cape Nosappu[6] km
Shikotan	色丹島 しこたんとう Shikotan tō	Остров Шикотан	si-kotan (Big village)	255	412.6	43°47'	146°44'	73.3
Spangberg channel (Habomai islands are shown below.) Shikotan channel
Oskolki	海馬島 かいばじま、とどじま Kaibajima, Todojima	Остров Осколки	todo-mosir (Steller sea lion island)	1.5	38	43°34'	146°24'
Polonskogo	多楽島 たらくとう Taraku tō	Остров Полонского	torar-uk (Take in the strap)	11.69	25	43°37'	146°19'	45.5
Chayka rock	カブ島 かぶとう Kabu tō	Скала Чайка
Petsernaya	カナクソ岩 かなくそいわ Kanakuso iwa	Скала Пещерная
Shishki	カブト島 かぶととう Kabuto tō	Острова Шишки
Polonskogo channel Taraku channel
Zelyony	志発島 しぼつとう Shibotsu tō	Остров Зелёный	sipe-op (A place where a shoal of Chum salmon)	58.3	45	43°29'	146°09'	25.5
Vojeikov channel Shibotsu channel
Demina	春苅島 はるかるとう Harukaru tō	Острова Дёмина	haru-kar-kotan (Village of harvesting Cardiocrinum cordatum bulbs)	2	34	43°25'	146°10'
Yuri	勇留島 ゆりとう Yuri tō	Остров Юрий	urir (Cormorant island)	10		43°25'	146°04'	16.6
Yuri channel
Anuchina	秋勇留島 あきゆりとう Akiyuri tō	Остров Анучина	aki-urir (Yuri's young brother)	5	33	43°21'	146°00'	13.7
Tanfilyeva	水晶島 すいしょうとう Suishō tō	Остров Танфильева	si-so (Big bare rock)	21	15	43°26'	145°55'	7.2
Goyōmai channel Sovetskiy channel
Storozhevoy	萌茂尻島 もえもしりとう Moemoshiri tō	Остров Сторожевой	moi-mosir (A calm island)	0.07	11.8	43°23'	145°53'	6.0
Rifovy	オドケ島 おどけとう Odoke tō	Остров Рифовый		0.001	3.6	43°23'	145°52'
Signalny	貝殻島 かいがらじま Kaigarajima	Остров Сигнальный	kay-ka-ra-i (Low thing above the wave)			43°23'	145°51'	3.7
Cape Nosappu, Hokkaido

See also

• Offshore islets of Shikotan

References

1. "An Overview of the Northern Territories". www.hoppou.go.jp. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
2. "The Kurile Islands Dispute". mandalaprojects.com. November 1997. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
3. "Kuril islands dispute between Russia and Japan". BBC. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
4. "October 7, 1952 Incident (Habomai Islands) : Application by the United States to the International Court of Justice, May 26, 1955". Yale Law School. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
5. "Texts of Soviet–Japanese Statements; Peace Declaration Trade Protocol." The New York Times, page 2, October 20, 1956.
   Subtitle: "Moscow, October 19. (UP) – Following are the texts of a Soviet–Japanese peace declaration and of a trade protocol between the two countries, signed here today, in unofficial translation from the Russian". Quote:"...The U.S.S.R. and Japan have agreed to continue, after the establishment of normal diplomatic relations between them, negotiations for the conclusion of a peace treaty. Hereby, the U.S.S.R., in response to the desires of Japan and taking into consideration the interest of the Japanese state, agrees to hand over to Japan the Habomai and the Shikotan Islands, provided that the actual changing over to Japan of these islands will be carried out after the conclusion of a peace treaty..."
6. 北方領土の姿 北方対策本部 - 内閣府 (in Japanese) (tr. "The Northern Territories Northern Territories Headquarters - Cabinet Office Home Page") www8.cao.go.jp, Cabinet Office, accessed 19 March 2023

External links

• Habomai islet gets Russian Orthodox church
• The Kurile Islands