Prime Minister Naoto Kan received a courtesy call at the Prime Minister's Office from junior-high students who are descendants, including third-generation descendants, of families who once lived in the Northern Territories of Japan.

After these seven students spoke about their feelings toward the Northern Territories, the Prime Minister gave words of encouragement, saying, "Welcome to the Prime Minister's Office. Looking at your activities, such as participating in debate competitions and inviting Russian students for home stays, I believe you have studied extensively about the Northern Territories issue.
These regions have been Japanese territories consistently throughout the long history, but currently the situation is such that Japan cannot exercise effective control over them.
Although past prime ministers have made efforts to conclude a peace treaty with Russia by all means and have these territories returned to Japan, we have not achieved that stage yet. I myself have already talked with the President of Russia a number of times, and I want to have the Northern Territories returned to Japan, absolutely, some day in the future.
At the same time, as apparent from your exchange activities with Russia, it is also important to deepen friendly relations further with Russia as a neighbor in the process of concluding a peace treaty with it.
I was strongly encouraged that young people like everyone here - I assume you must be either third- or fourth-generation descendants - are engaged in this issue of the Northern Territories.
I would appreciate it if you reaffirm the conviction that the Northern Territories are Japanese territories, and convey that message on various occasions."