"Kimura demonstrates accurate knowledge of all agreements and definitions, and he offers reasonable speculation about what Russian leaders were thinking when they made statements concerning the issue."—Margarita Karnysheva, The Russian Review. "The Kurillian Knot makes a useful addition to the Anglo-phone literature on Russo-Japanese relations. Its recapitulation of post-1956 negotiations in meticulous."—John J. Stephan, Journal of Asian Studies. "Hiroshi Kimura's manuscript, The Kurillian Knot, is an authoritative work that reflects that author's lifetime of experience studying the northern territorial dispute and Soviet and Russian foreign policy."—Peggy Falkenheim Meyer, Simon Fraser University "Reflecting Kimura's lifetime of experience studying the territorial dispute and Soviet and Russian foreign policy, this authoritative historical exegesis is both clear and accessible. Nowhere else will you find a more detailed look at the documents in the Joint Compendium published by the Russian and Japanese foreign ministries."—Peggy Meyer, Simon Fraser University "This is the most scholarly and comprehensive treatment yet seen of an issue that has bedeviled Japans relations with the Soviet Union/Russia for sixty-one years. The author includes very recent material and draws from a wide variety of sources, far outdoing anything else yet published in this field." —Geoffrey Jukes, Australian National University "This volume provides the most comprehensive explanation of Japan's on-going border dispute with Russia as seen from a Japanese perspective. It is a great pleasure to have this important work from one of Japan's leading authorities on the topic available in English." —Kimie Hara, University of Waterloo