Former residents of the Northern Territories hold memorial from plane — The Japan Times

In Japan, former residents of the islands that the country calls the Northern Territories took a charter flight near them to honor the memory of their ancestors. On Saturday, a plane carrying 34 participants, including former island residents and their relatives, departed from Nemuro-Nakashibetsu Airport in Hokkaido. As The Japan Times reports, at around 11 a.m., the participants joined their hands in prayer while flying near the islands.

Replacement for grave visits

The aerial memorial ceremony was organized mainly because Japan and Russia, the aggressor state, suspended exchange programs. One of them allowed former residents to visit the graves of relatives and ancestors on the islands claimed by Japan.

The exchange programs were suspended because of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This was the second such ceremony: the first was held in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Another similar event is scheduled for November 7.

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Memories of former residents

Tomie Nishidate, 89, a former resident of Kunashiri Island, said that when looking at the islands from the plane, she remembers her childhood home and feels nostalgic. Kuni Tabata, 90, who spoke about the school she attended, also took part in the flight. Her 66-year-old daughter, Hitomi Hoshi, said that the islands are both close and distant, and recalled that her mother once lived there.

The islands are at the center of a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia. According to the publication, Soviet troops seized them from Japan in the final days of World War II.