Matsumoto, Shunichi 1897- 1987

On 22 July 1988, former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone met Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow as part of a Japanese campaign to recover four islands lost to the Soviet Union at the end of the Second World War. In the aftermath of the visit, Ichiro Suetsugu, secretary-general of the Council on National Security Problems, wrote a report appraising the former Japanese leader’s performance on his Soviet visit and assessing future issues in the campaign.

Ichirō Kōno, the Japanese Minister of Agriculture, raises questions about the normalization of relations between the Soviet Union and Japan. Issues that must be addressed prior to this happening include disputes over fishing rights and the transfer of the islands of Habomai and Shikotan to Japan.