Resolved the Sakhalin–Kuril territorial ambiguity between Japan and Russia, shaping a dispute that persists into the 21st century.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- 7 May 1875
- Ratifications exchanged
- 22 August 1875, Tokyo
- Treaty in effect
- 1877
- Japan ceded to Russia
- All of Sakhalin Island
- Russia ceded to Japan
- Entire Kuril archipelago
- Authentic text language
- French
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Japan and Russia held overlapping, unsettled claims to both Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands following earlier agreements that left jurisdiction ambiguous. Both empires sought a clear and final demarcation of their respective spheres in the North Pacific to reduce friction and facilitate administration of the territories.
On 7 May 1875, representatives of the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire signed the Treaty of Saint Petersburg, under which Japan relinquished its portion of Sakhalin Island to Russia in exchange for Russia's holdings in the Kuril Islands between Iturup and the Kamchatka Peninsula. Ratifications were exchanged in Tokyo on 22 August 1875, and the treaty took effect in 1877.
Sakhalin Island became wholly Russian territory, while Japan gained sovereignty over the entire Kuril archipelago. However, translation discrepancies between the French original and Japanese versions later fueled controversy over which islands constituted the Kurils, contributing to an ongoing territorial dispute that was further complicated when Japan renounced Kuril claims in the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco.
Political Outcome
Japan ceded Sakhalin to Russia; Russia ceded the Kuril Islands to Japan, establishing full sovereignty for each party over the respective territories.
Both empires held overlapping or partial claims to Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.
Russia held all of Sakhalin; Japan held the entire Kuril archipelago.