313 
The Soviet Union maintains that crabs found on its Far Eastern 
continental shelf are ipso facto Soviet property. Therefore, Japanese 
crab fishermen would be completely subject to Soviet restrictions. 
In fact, Soviet authorities have fined Japanese fishermen for violating 
the protection of resources on the Soviet continental shelf. However, 
Japan does not recognize Soviet sovereignty over its continental shelf 
beyond the 12-mile territorial sea. The Soviet Union bases its claim 
to the resources of its continental shelf on its participation in the 
1958 Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf, which Japan did 
not sign. As a ‘“‘manifestation of good-neighborship in international 
fishery practice”, the Soviet Union does permit Japan to engage in 
limited crab fishing on its shelf zone. 4 
In contrast to the Soviet Union, Japan claims only a three-mile 
territorial sea in support of its distant fishing operations. However, 
domestic pressures and the trend of international opinion in favor 
of it have persuaded the Japanese Government to support the 
proposed 12-mile territorial sea at the forthcoming Law of the Sea 
Conference sponsored by the United Nations in Geneva. Expansion 
of the territorial sea could help to alleviate Japanese conflicts with 
the Soviets. 
THE ISSUE OF SAFE FISHING OPERATIONS 
The issue of safe fishing operations off the coast of Japan, has 
also been a major concern to the Japanese and Soviets. It is a problem 
which keeps recurring and raises anew the whole range of issues 
related to the larger territorial question. 
The territorial issue may be the most important issue in Japanese 
foreign relations.> Stressing this point at the outset of the October 
1973 Japan-Soviet summit, Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka stated that, 
‘“‘Japan-Soviet relations could not be improved without a solution to 
the territorial problem.”® As foreign policy plays a major role in 
Japanese domestic politics, the territorial issue is a major domestic 
political issue as well. In discussion of the October 1973 Japan-Soviet 
summit, the Japan Times noted that Soviet seizure of Japanese fishing 
boats operating in the Northern Pacific and detention of Japanese 
fishermen in the U.S.S.R. were to be understood as problems directly 
related to the territorial issue, and therefore issues which must be 
resolved before Japan-Soviet relations could be improved.’ 
The Soviets, for their part, do not choose to consider the territorial 
problems as either juridical or diplomatic issues. They maintain that 
the ‘‘Northern Territories” problem is an American creation, in a 
cold war atmosphere, of issues they feel were settled permanently 
by the World War II peace treaty. These territories are coveted to 
establish foreign military bases in the Soviet view.’ In spite of the 
Soviet position, the Japanese have attempted to have the territorial 
issue and safe fishing included in the agenda of Soviet-Japanese sum- 
mits and in most other meetings. 
* The Japan Times, April 18, 1975. 
5 Young C. Kim, Japanese-Soviet Relations: Politics, Economics and National Security. Center for 
Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., 1974. 
U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations. Western Investment in Communist Econo- 
mies: a survey by John P. Hardt, George D. Holliday, Young C. Kim. Washington, U.S. Gov't. Print. 
off., August, 1974. 
® The Japan Times, October 10, 1973. 
7 Ibid., October 12. 1973. 
8 D. V. Petrov, Yaponiya v Mirovoi Politike. (Japan in World Politics). Moscow, International 
Relations Publishing House, 1973. p. 233. 
® The Japan Times, April 22, 1972, March 29, 1973, October 23, 1973, June 7, 1975. 
