Getting Nowhere

Smiles flashed and vodka flowed in Moscow's Spiridonovka Palace one day last week. It was Soviet Foreign Minister Shepilov's way of welcome to his Japanese counterpart, one-legged Mamoru Shigemitsu, in honor of Shigemitsu's 69th birthday. Gallantly, Shepilov apologized for not having sukiyaki for his Japanese guests. "Your vodka and caviar," replied Shigemitsu graciously, "are as good as ever."

Once the Foreign Ministers had moved from the groaning board to the conference table, the talk became much less pleasant; the Japanese discovered that the conference, too, would be Russian style. Shigemitsu, who would like to get all the southern Kurils back, began by asking only for the return of the two nearest islands, Kunashiri and Etorofu, which are small, barren, and of value only to Japanese fishermen.

Shepilov's reply was swift and stunning. "Japan has no right," he snapped, "to raise any claim on any territory occupied by the Soviet Union." Furthermore, announced Radio Moscow, two smaller islands that Russia had previously offered to return to Japan outright would now be returned only "on certain conditions," since Japan had apparently not appreciated Russia's "magnanimous act." Shepilov also cited Yalta, where both the U.S. and Britain agreed to let the Russians grab the Kurils as part of the Russian terms for entering into what proved to be its week-long participation in the war against Japan. Shigemitsu could only protest that Japan was not a party to Yalta. He hobbled before reporters on his two black crutches, sputtered: "Complete lack of reasonableness--if they do not give up anything they grabbed during the war, that's real power politics."

Japan's other requests did not get much further. Shepilov announced that 104 Japanese prisoners will be released soon, but denied any knowledge of the 11,175 prisoners Japan claims Russia is holding as "hostages." With a great show of generosity, after rejecting what Japan wanted,

Shepilov dangled a $250 million trade agreement before Shigemitsu's eyes.

Aware that Japan is impatient for a settlement, Shigemitsu is fearful that before the talks end he may have to agree to an Adenauer formula, i.e., resuming normal diplomatic relations without gaining any major concessions. Premier Hatoyama is so confident of some sort of settlement that he has already set in motion a merging of government security agencies in expectation of an upsurge in Soviet propaganda and espionage when the Russians return to Tokyo in force.

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