ABSTRACT
Prime Minister Ichir Hatoyama paid a historic visit to Moscow from 12 to 19 October 1956, the first official visit by an incumbent Japanese premier to the Kremlin throughout the history of the bilateral Russo-Japanese and SovietJapanese relations. During this visit, diplomatic relations between Japan and the USSR were restored. The two countries ended the state of war, eleven years after the Second World War. However, a peace treaty was not signed. As for the territorial question, the Joint Declaration at the end of the visit contained a Russian promise to transfer the Habomai and Shikotan islands to Japan. The negotiation reached the compromise formula quickly during Hatoyama’s visit. However, there was a long period of turmoil prior to this historic event. Direct contacts over peace negotiations between the two nations began in January 1955, when a letter, later to be known as the ‘Domnitsky Letter’, was handed to Hatoyama. It was 21 months after this first contact that Hatoyama’s visit to Moscow took place and diplomatic relations were restored.
