For the second time in less than a year, independent Upper House lawmaker Muneo Suzuki has defied the central government by flying to Moscow for talks with senior Russian officials.
Suzuki, who departed Sunday, met the deputy head of the Russian fisheries agency, Andrei Yakovlev, on Monday. He sought permission from Russia for Japanese fishing fleets to harvest konbu (kelp) in the waters around the Habomai islets off Hokkaido. Earlier this month, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it was suspending permission for harvesting konbu, saying that repairs to a lighthouse were needed.
Suzuki planned to meet Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, a former Russian ambassador to Japan, on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of once again allowing ancestral grave visits by former residents of Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, which are claimed by Japan. They include Habomai, Shikotan, Kunashiri and Etorofu.