Japanese-Russo Controversy Options

[L-Unit]

Hey!
I just woke up this morning and read a news tidbit (those lovely 1 paragraph, inside page newsflashes in the Herald) about a Japanese fisherman being killed in Kaigara island,between Sakhalin and Hokkaido, by Russian Coast Guard boat. Since you're quite nearby, and this territorial dispute is closely linked with the Kuril Islands, I was wondering what your reaction is, how this might effect travel and anything along those lines. Most of the maps that accurately portray the area where Kaigara are in Russian or Japanese, so I'm also wondering where it really is, and what relation it has to where you are.
Anyway, have fun with the rest of the trip, stick in there and I'll hopefully see you soon

[Misty_Nikula_Ohlsen]

Well, essentially, you have much more information (even in a short 1 paragraph news flash) than we do here. We have limited or no outside information that manages to filter its way to us, so I haven't heard anything about this incident or how it might be related to the territorial dispute. It certainly hasn't affected anything about our travel through the Islands and I have no idea, but would be surprised if it affected any of our remaining travel plans. We have been in the northern Kurils for the past couple of weeks, so we are actually fairly far from Hokkaido now. One place that you may be able to find a better map of the area is the Online Perry Casteñeda Map Library at the University of Texas. You could probably just Google it to find the link (sorry, no Internet access here either )


Mrs. N-O