is a

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

Hokkaido Prefecture is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Japan claims the southern parts of the

disputed Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an oppo ...

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

(known as the Northern Territories in Japan) as part of this subprefecture. As of March 2009, the subprefecture has an estimated population of 84,035, and an area of 3406.23 km².

Nakashibetsu Airport is an airport located from Nakashibetsu, Hokkaidō, Japan. It serves Nakashibetsu and the nearby city of Nemuro, and is the easternmost airport in the country. The Japanese government officially refers to the airport as Nakashibetsu Airport ...

, the easternmost airport in Japan, is located in the town of

Nakashibetsu is a town located in Nemuro Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of March 31, 2008, it has an estimated population of 23,958, and an area of 684.98 km2. Nakashibetsu Airport, the easternmost airport in mainland Japan, is located in the tow ...

, Shibetsu District.

History

*November 1897: Nemuro Subprefecture established. *November 1897: Shana Subprefecture established. *December 1903: Shana Subprefecture and Nemuro Subprefecture merged. *August 1945:

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

occupied the Kuril Islands.

Geography

Hokkaido-Southern-Kuril-Islands-Japan-Northern-Territories

Municipalities

Districts in the Northern Territories

Kuril-Islands-Northern-Territories-of-Japan-Map

:Also known as the Southern Kuril Islands (administered by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, claimed by Japan; see

Kuril Islands dispute The Kuril Islands dispute, known as the Northern Territories dispute in Japan, is a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia over the ownership of the four southernmost Kuril Islands. The Kuril Islands are a chain of islands that stretch ...

Districts renounced in
San Francisco Treaty The , also called the , re-established peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers on behalf of the United Nations by ending the legal state of war, military occupation and providing for redress for hostile actions up to and inclu ...

Uruppu Urup (; , ) is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Kuril Islands chain in the south of the Sea of Okhotsk, northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu language word ''urup'', meaning "sockeye salmon". Geography and climate U ...

(

Urup Urup (; , ) is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Kuril Islands chain in the south of the Sea of Okhotsk, northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu language word ''urup'', meaning "sockeye salmon". Geography and climate U ...

) *

Shimushiru Simushir (, , ), meaning ''Large Island'' in Ainu, is an uninhabited volcanic island near the center of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It was formerly known as Marikan. History Simushir was inha ...

(

Simushir Simushir (, , ), meaning ''Large Island'' in Ainu, is an uninhabited volcanic island near the center of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It was formerly known as Marikan. History Simushir was inha ...

) *

Shumushu Shumshu (; ; ) is the easternmost and second-northernmost island of the Kuril Islands chain, which divides the Sea of Okhotsk from the northwest Pacific Ocean. The name of the island is derived from the Ainu language, meaning "good island". It i ...

(

Shumshu Shumshu (; ; ) is the easternmost and second-northernmost island of the Kuril Islands chain, which divides the Sea of Okhotsk from the northwest Pacific Ocean. The name of the island is derived from the Ainu language, meaning "good island". It i ...

)

Islands

Habomai The Habomai Islands (; ) are a group of uninhabited islets (but for the Russian guards stationed there) in the southernmost Kuril Islands. The islands have been under Soviet/Russian administration since the 1945 invasion by the Soviet Union nea ...

Rocks *

Shikotan Shikotan, also known as Shpanberg or Spanberg, is an island in the Kurils administered by the Russian Federation as part of Yuzhno-Kurilsky District of Sakhalin Oblast. It is claimed by Japan as the titular , organized as part of Nemuro Subpre ...

Island *

Kunashiri Kunashir Island (; ; ), possibly meaning ''Black Island'' or ''Grass Island'' in Ainu, is the southernmost island of the Kuril Islands. The island has been under Russian administration since the end of World War II, when Soviet forces took pos ...

Etorofu Iturup (; ), also historically known by other names, is an island in the Kuril Archipelago separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. The town of Kurilsk, administrative center of Kurilsky District, is located roughly midway ...

(

Iturup Iturup (; ), also historically known by #Names, other names, is an island in the Kuril Archipelago separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. The town of Kurilsk, administrative center of Kurilsky District, is located roughly mi ...

)

Mergers

External links

Official Website
{{Hokkaido Southern Kuriles