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The migration authorities of Japan considered that a citizen of the Russian Federation who sailed to Hokkaido has no grounds for obtaining refugee status. Local media write about this. The man will not be given a temporary residence permit. And, most likely, they will be handed over to the Consul General of Russia. This will happen next week in Sapporo.
The decision of the Japanese authorities is partly due to where the Russian came from. Tokyo considers the southern part of the Kuril Islands to be its native territory. And therefore, they cannot give refugee status to a citizen of the Russian Federation who arrived from Kunashir.
A week ago, the Kyodo news agency reported that an unnamed Russian citizen sailed from Kunashir to Hokkaido and is asking for asylum. The man was handed over to the employees of the immigration bureau. It turned out that his name was V. F. Knockard. It remains behind the scenes – how he got to Hokkaido. The distance between Kunashir and this Japanese island is 20 km. The water temperature in the strait is 15 degrees.