Habomai Islands

The Habomai Islands (歯舞群島) are a group of uninhabited islets in the southernmost Kuril Islands.

History

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

The Treaty of Shimoda, signed by Russia and Japan in 1855, recognised Japanese ownership of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai Islands.

The Habomai Islands were occupied by Soviet forces in the last few days of World War II. Soviet Union then deported all the island residents to Japan. 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.

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. 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.

Islands

Name	Area km2	Highest point m
色丹島 しこたんとう Shikotan tō	255	412.6
海馬島 かいばじま、とどじま Kaibajima, Todojima	1.5	38
多楽島 たらくとう Taraku tō	11.69	25
カブ島 かぶとう Kabu tō
カナクソ岩 かなくそいわ Kanakuso iwa
カブト島 かぶととう Kabuto tō
志発島 しぼつとう Shibotsu tō	58.3	45
春苅島 はるかるとう Harukaru tō	2	34
勇留島 ゆりとう Yuri tō	10
秋勇留島 あきゆりとう Akiyuri tō	5	33
水晶島 すいしょうとう Suishō tō	21	15
萌茂尻島 もえもしりとう Moemoshiri tō	0.07	11.8
オドケ島 おどけとう Odoke tō	0.001	3.6
貝殻島 かいがらじま Kaigarajima