Lawmakers in Japanese city say MP must resign over ‘seizing Russia’s Kuril Islands’ remark

The legislature of Nemuro, Japan’s easternmost city, has demanded the resignation of Hodaka Maruyama, a member of its House of Representatives, over his proposition to seize Russia’s Kuril Islands, TASS reported on Thursday.

Earlier this month, Maruyama accompanied a group of former residents of the Southern Kuril Islands on their trip to Kunashir, on a visa-free outing.

On the way back, the MP, who was reportedly intoxicated at the time, asked Koyata Otsuka, 89, who is a former resident of the islands, “Do you think there is any alternative to war [to recover the islands]?,” Kyodo News said. Otsuka dismissed the idea, saying, “No I don’t think war is necessary.”

The opposition lawmaker was then expelled from the Japan Innovation Party, whose leadership visited the Russian Embassy in Tokyo to personally apologize to the ambassador for the incident.