Russia to Name Northern Territories Island after Soviet Spy Sorge

Tokyo, July 30 (Jiji Press)–The Sakhalin branch of the Russian Geographical Society has announced that an uninhabited island in the Lesser Kurils will be named after Richard Sorge, a Soviet spy who operated in Japan before the Pacific War. The Lesser Kurils are Shikotan and Habomai islands of Japan’s Northern Territories. The Russian government is expected to formally approve the decision shortly. The branch announced on Tuesday that a plaque bearing Sorge’s name will be installed on the island, claiming that the naming will help legally establish the immutability of Russia’s Far Eastern borders. The move is seen as an attempt to reinforce the status quo of Russia’s effective control over the northwestern Pacific islands that were seized from Japan by Soviet troops in the closing days of World War II. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]