abstract:Hoppō Ryōdo Mondai}}, is a dispute between Japan and the Russian Federation over sovereignty over the South Kuril Islands. The disputed islands, which were annexed by Soviet forces during the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation at the end of World War II, are currently under the Russian administration as South Kuril District of the Sakhalin Oblast (Сахалинская область, Sakhalinskaya oblast), but are claimed by Japan, which refers to them as the or , arguably being part of the Nemuro Subprefecture of Hokkaidō Prefecture.
A substantialdisputeregarding the status of the KurilIslands arose between the U. S. and theSoviet Union duringthe preparation of the Treaty of San Francisco in 1951.
The dispute over the islands called the southern KurilIslands by Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan has kept the two countries from signing a peace agreement after World War II and continues to be a thorn in bilateral relations.