俄國積極發展北方四島

Recently the NHK News reported the following:
ロシア政府で北方四島の開発を担当している地域発展省の高官は、２０１５年までの北方四島などの開発費用を大幅に増額する考えを表明し、来年の大統領選挙のあとも引き続き、北方四島をロシアの領土として積極的に開発していく姿勢を示したものとみられます。
これはロシア地域発展省のパノフ次官が、４日、ロシア極東のハバロフスクで発言したものです。この中で、パノフ次官は北方四島などのインフラ整備の予算として、２０１５年までに１０５億ルーブル（日本円で２４０億円余り）を追加拠出する考えを表明しました。ロシア政府は、２００７年から２０１５年までの８年間で北方四島などの港湾施設や空港、それに道路といったインフラを集中的に開発する事業を進めており、今回の追加拠出が実現すれば、開発予算の総額は７００億円を超えることになります。ロシアでは、来年３月の大統領選挙に向けてプーチン首相が立候補する考えを表明し、当選が確実との見方が広がっていて、今回のパノフ次官の発言は政権が変わってもロシア政府が引き続き、北方四島の開発に積極的に取り組んでいく姿勢を示したものとみられます。
(試譯文)
Inside the Russia government, the senior official of the ministry that was responsible for the local development of the four islands off Hokkaido had expressed the idea of increasing sharply the exploration expenditure up to 2015 for the four islands off Hokkaido etc; and would continue it after the presidential election next year, showing a positive posture regarding the development of four islands off Hokkaido as a territory of Russia.

This was what had been said on the 4th in Khabarovsk of Russian Far East by the Russia's Vice-Minister Panoff of the ministry responsible for area development. In this, Vice-Minister Panoff expressed the idea to assign an additional amount of 10,500 million rubles (it would be a little more than 24 billion yen in the Japanese yen) by 2015 as the budget for infrastructure construction, for example in the four islands off Hokkaido. The Russia government for eight years from 2007 to 2015 had been advancing the enterprise in the four island off Hokkaido etc. of developing harbor facilities and airports, and in it, the collective development of road and infrastructure linkage; if this additional provision was realized, the total amount of development budget would exceed 70 billion yen. In Russia, the expressed idea was that Prime Minister Putin would stand as a candidate for the presidential election in March next year; the view that believing in his success in the election was wide spread. The remarks by Vice-Minister Panoff this time was regarded as to show the posture that the Russia government would positively continue to tackle the development of the four islands off Hokkaido, even if there were changes in the political power.

Like it or not, Japan has to face the reality that Russia is controlling and developing the four islands.