Japanese former residents fly to Russian-held isles to visit graves

Japanese former residents of Russian-controlled islands off Hokkaido flew to two of them on Sunday and visited their ancestors' graves, in the second such air trip negotiated during a decades-long spat over the islands' ownership.A group of 70 people, including former residents of Kunashiri and Etorofu, their families and government officials, are scheduled to fly back to Japan's northernmost main island on Monday."It is bliss for me to console the souls of the many people buried in our hometown," Tadaaki Iwasaki, an 84-year-old former resident of Etorofu who heads the group, said Saturday …READ FULL ARTICLE