All too often we forget that Russia and Japan are technically still at war, in name if not in practice. They never actually sued for peace after the end of World War II. Moscow and Tokyo have repeatedly tried to cure this hangover from the 1940s only to be stifled by a territorial dispute that began more than a century ago. Today, rumors surfaced yet again that the two countries are on the brink of peace. Nikkei, the Japanese daily, reported that leaders from Japan and Russia were discussing an enhanced version of a phased transfer of ownership of the territory in question, the Kuril Islands. Kyodo, another prominent Japanese news agency, claimed that the potential agreement would be a bit more convoluted....
