Karafuto (Treaty of Saint Petersburg)

Karafuto (Japanese: 樺太), previously also known as Sakhalin (Russian: Сахалин), is a large island in the North Pacific Ocean, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N. Karafuto, which is about one-third the size of Honshu, is just off the east coast of Russia, and just north of Japan. The population was 3,126,372 as of the 2015 census, made up of mostly Karafuto and ethnic Japanese with small Russian community. The indigenous peoples of the island are the Ainu, Oroks and Nivkhs.

Karafuto was claimed by both Russia and Japan over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. These disputes sometimes involved military conflict and divisions of the island between the two powers.

History
Japanese settlement on Karafuto dates to at least the Edo period. Ōtomari was established in 1679, and cartographers of the Matsumae domain mapped the island, and named it "Kita-Ezo". Japanese cartographer and explorer Mamiya Rinzō established that Karafuto was an island through his discovery of what is now named Mamiya Strait (Strait of Tartary) in 1809. Japan unilaterally proclaimed sovereignty over the whole island in 1845, but its claims were not recognized by the Russian Empire, fearing that Qing dynasty China might reclaim Vladivostok and Outer Manchuria (known in China as the Sixty-Four Villages East of the River). In 1855, Russia and Japan signed the Treat of Shimoda, which declared that nations of both countries could inhabit the island; Russians to the north, and Japanese in the south, without a clearly defined boundary between.

The island remained under shared sovereignty until the signing of the 1875 Treaty of Saint Petersburg, in which Japan surrendered its claims in the Kuril Islands to Russia in exchange for the northern Sakhalin lands.

Karafuto People's Republic
By 1926, the bottom had fallen out of the Japanese economy. Much of the population was unemployed and thousands had lost their life savings. A Communist movement increased in popularity and gained momentum throughout the country. Communism was quickly outlawed and subjected to repression and prosecution by the military and police of Imperial Japan. The Japanese Communist Party (JCP) took refuge in Karafuto away from the powers in central Japan. As World War II ended Japan surrendered to the Allies on August 14, 1945 after the Japanese government notified the Allies that it had accepted the Postdam Declaration. General Douglas MacArthur was appointed Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) and was given direct control over the main islands of Japan (Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu) and the immediately surrounding islands, while the outlying possessions were divided between the Allied Powers. The Soviet Union occupied North Korea and Karafuto.

Karafuto would remain a satellite state of the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1949. Soviet occupation authorities began transferring administrative responsibility to Karafuto communist leadership in 1949, and the Karafuto People's Republic (KPR) began to function as a state on October 7, 1949. Joseph Stalin approved Matsubara Oda's stewardship of the Karafuto Communist Party (KCP) and Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Matsubara Oda was officially sworn in as leader of the Karafuto People's Republic on December 1, 1949.

Over the coming years, private industry was nationalized, the land seized from the pre-war landowners and redistributed to the peasants. Karafuto was now to be brought into line with the Soviet model of a "people's democracy", collectivisation of agriculture and a centrally planned socialist economy.

Tsuda Regime
Matsubara Oda would remain KCP leader and Chairman of the Council of Ministers until his death in 1966 at the age of 75. Two successors would emerge to replace the leader. Naonobu Tsuda, who had been closely aligned with Oda's regime and Koji Shimada, who was more socially and culturally liberalized than his opponent. The Soviet Union backed Naonobu Tsuda and would undermine Koji Shimada's attempt at leadership, leading to Tsuda being elected leader of the KCP and Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

As the leader of the Karafuto People's Republic, Tsuda's conservatism and carefulness to reach decisions by consensus with the rest of the Council of Ministers resulted in sustained political stability within the country. However, his hostility toward reform and active cultivation of cronyism ushered in a period of pervasive corruption and socioeconomic decline.

After years of declining health, Tsuda died on 10 October 1984 and was quickly succeeded in his post as Chairman of the Council of Ministers by Yoshifumi Nagata.

Nagata Regime
Just days after Naonobu Tsuda's death, on 13 October 1984, Yoshifumi Nagata was elected General Secretary of the KCP and Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

During his rule, Nagata attempted to improve the economy by raising management effectiveness without changing the principles of socialist economy. In contrast to Tsuda's policy of avoiding conflicts and dismissals, he began to fight violations of party, state and labour discipline, which led to significant personnel changes during an anti-corruption campaign against many of Tsuda's cronies.

In March 1986, Nagata suffered total kidney failure. In August 1986, he entered the hospital on a permanent basis, where he would spend the remainder of his life.

A four-day period of nationwide mourning was announced. Nagata was succeeded by Kano Kagawa, who seemed to mirror Nagata's tenure.

Fall of the Karafuto People's Republic
With Communism weakening throughout the Eastern Bloc, the KCP had grown too feeble to resist the demand for change. Kano Kagawa promised to open up the regime, stating support for multi-party elections. On February 20, 1989, Kagawa announced the Party would cede its monopoly over the political system. On June 14 1989 the first ever multi-party elections where held.

Republic of Karafuto
The National Democratic Party of Karafuto under the leadership of Takejiro Iori would sweep to victory in the general elections. Iori would become the country's first democratically elected leader. The new government abolished the Council of Ministers and enacted the Karafuto Parliament. On December 4, 1989, Parliament voted to change the country's name to the Republic of Karafuto.

Geography
Karafuto is separated from Russia by the narrow and shallow Strait of Tartary and from Hokkaido, Japan by the Soya Strait or La Pérouse Strait. The island is 948 km (589 mi) long and 25 to 170 km (16 to 106 mi) wide with an area of 72,492 km2 (27,989 sq mi).

There is a theory that Karafuto arose from the Sakhalin Island Arc. Nearly two-thirds of Karafuto is mountainous. Two parallel ranges of mountains traverse it from north to south, reaching 600–1,500 m (2,000–4,900 ft). The Western Karafuto Mountains peak in Mount Ichara, 1,481 m (4,859 ft), while the Eastern Karafuto Mountains's highest peak, Mount Lopatin 1,609 m (5,279 ft), is also the island's highest mountain. Shizuoka and Tōshi-Anki ranges traverse the island in the south, while the swampy Northern-Karafuto plain occupies most of its north.

Climate
Thanks to the cold and raw Sea of Okhotsk which surrounds the island, the climate on Karafuto is generally cool and humid. In the depth of winter the average temperature ranges from a bearable –6°C in the south to a bone chilling –24°C in the north, while temperatures as cold as –54°C have been reported. In the summer temperature rarely exceeds +19°C, often much cooler and floating ice can be observed around the island, even in the height of summer. Generally the north is much colder than the south, in part due to a warm current running along the Tartar strait in the southern end, the winter is a full 2 months longer in the North (October-May). The annual precipitation ranges between 600-1200 mm, and snowfall can be heavy – in the mountains accumulation of 5 meter snow or more is not unusual.

Politics
Karafuto is a unitary parliamentary republic. As a unitary state justice, education, health, security, foreign policy and defense are all administered nationwide. The Executive Power is exercised by the Prime Minister and a cabinet of 13 ministers.

The legislative power is constituted by the Karafuto Parliament, composed of a single chamber: the General Assembly, consisting of 99 members representing the 16 prefectures, elected based on proportional representation for a four-year term and the General Secretary, who presides over the chamber.

The judicial arm is exercised by the Supreme Court and Judges nationwide. The members of the Supreme Court are elected by the General Assembly and the judges are directly assigned by the Supreme Court.

Demographics
In April 2015, Karafuto's population was estimated to be around 3.2 million by National Statistical Office, with continuing decline of working age population and total fertility rate. The birth rate in 2015 stood at 8.7 per 1,000 inhabitants, significantly lower than the rate of 14.5 per 1,000 in 1981. At the same time, the mortality rate increased slightly from 8.9 per 1,000 inhabitants in 1981 to 11.3 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2015.

Cities
Almost two-thirds of the Karafuto people live in urban areas. Karafuto's largest and most influential metropolitan centres are those of Toyohara and Oho, with metropolitan populations of approximately 727,000 and 424,000 inhabitants respectively. Other prominent cities with urban populations above 50,000 inhabitants include those of Shisuka, Nagaike,Tomarioru, and Okishima.

The table below lists the largest cities in Karafuto, by population contained in their respective contiguous built up urban areas. The results come from the preliminary figures of the population census that took place in Karafuto in April 2015.

Companies

 * Air Karafuto (AK)
 * Toshio Hotels
 * Yugen Motors
 * Hinata Financial
 * Ryo
 * Taiyo Corp
 * Tenchi Pharmaceuticals
 * Karafuto Railway
 * Mitsumoto Holdings
 * KX Holdings
 * Stoneridge Tires
 * Toshatsu
 * Karafuto Electric Company (KEC)

Oil and Gas

 * Karafuto National Oil Corporation
 * Karafuto Energy Group (KEG)
 * Petrocom International
 * KX Co, Ltd.

Mining

 * Yagi-Mitsugi
 * Hano Mining

Shipping

 * TransPacific Shipping
 * Noya Lines
 * Yashima Marine Group

Telecommunications

 * TK (Telecom Karafuto)
 * Mobi1
 * Ao
 * skyVU