Nemuro (Japanese: 根室振興局, Hepburn: Nemuro-shinkō-kyoku) is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Japan claims the southern parts of the disputedKuril Islands (known as the Northern Territories in Japan) as part of this subprefecture.
As of March 2009, the subprefecture has an estimated population of 84,035, and an area of 3406.23 km².
44°6′N 146°42′E / 44.100°N 146.700°E
Japan and Russia have a territorial dispute over the four southernmost Kuril Islands. The Kuril Islands are a chain of islands that stretch between the Japanese island of Hokkaido at their southern end and the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula at their northern end. The islands separate the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean. The four disputed islands, like other islands in the Kuril chain which are not in dispute, were unilaterally annexed by the Soviet Union following the Invasion of the Kuril Islands at the end of World War II. The disputed islands are under Russian administration as the South Kuril District and part of the Kuril District of the Sakhalin Oblast (Сахалинская область, Sakhalinskaya oblast). They are claimed by Japan, which refers to them as its Northern Territories or Southern Chishima, and considers them part of the Nemuro Subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture.
Shikotan, also known as Shpanberg or Spanberg, is an island in the Kurils administered by the Russian Federation as part of Yuzhno-Kurilsky District of Sakhalin Oblast. It is claimed by Japan as the titular Shikotan District (色丹郡, Shikotan-gun), organized as part of Nemuro Subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture. The island's primary economic activities are fisheries and fishing, with the principal marine products being cod, crab, and kelp.
Nemuro (根室市, Nemuro-shi; Ainu: ニ・ム・オロ Ni-mu-oro) is a city and port located in Nemuro Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Nemuro Subprefecture. Much of the city lies on the Nemuro Peninsula. As of February 29, 2012, the city has an estimated population of 29,087, with 12,966 households, and a population density of 56.74 persons per km (147.0 persons per sq. mi.). The total area is 512.63 km (197.93 sq mi).