On February 28, 2007, in Tokyo is going to take place an unveiling ceremony for the monument to the Former Japanese Prime Minister Itiro Hatoyama, who signed the 1956 Joint Soviet-Japanese Declaration reestablishing relations between the two countries.

The dedication ceremony has been initiated and arranged by the 21st Century Russian Committee headed by the Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov. The Japanese partner of the Committee is “Japan – Russia” Association headed by Yukio Hatoyama, Itiro Hatoyama’s grandson.

This ceremony is going to be one of the most remarkable events in recent Russian-Japanese relations and will be attended by Japanese Prime Minister, leading Japanese political, business and public figures.

The bronze monument has been designed by the renowned Russian sculptor and President of the Russian Academy of Arts Zurab Tsereteli.

Itiro Hatoyama (1883-1959) is a noted Japanese political figure. Before World War Ï he was repeatedly elected a deputy of the Parliament and held up a number of ministerial posts. In November 1945 he founded a Liberal Party headed by him till 1946 when he was removed from political activities as a result of purges among political figures and employees of the state entities held under the control of American occupation forces. In 1951 he returned to the political activity and from 1954 till 1956 as President of the Democratic Party (since November 1955 - Liberal-Democratic Party) Hatoyama led the Cabinet of Ministers. Within 1957-1959 he was the President of “Japan – Russia” Association.

The most appreciated Hatoyama’s merit was his signing in Moscow in 1956 on behalf of the Japanese Government a Joint Soviet-Japanese Declaration ending the state of war and reestablishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The construction of new Russian-Japanese relations in the after war period was not easy. After the end of World War Ï the diplomatic relations between the two countries remained broken off for 11 years. The first negotiations about renewal of the relations started in London in June 1955, but failed. The second attempt was made at the meeting of the Soviet and Japanese representatives in Moscow in July 1956, but the sides could not reach an agreement. In that situation the Japanese Prime Minister Itiro Hatoyama, then a sick wheel-chaired man, made a decision to go to Moscow. His visit resulted in signing on October 19, 1956 a Joint Declaration restoring relations between the two countries in which Itiro Hatoyama’s personal contribution is obvious. He understood, that the two neighboring nations had to get rid of the past burden to live in peace and friendship.