BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
The San Francisco Treaty, the Treaty of Peace signed with Japan, lays out the guidelines on unexploded ordnance (UXO) reparations and claims.
Japanese Ambassador Keiichi Higuchi voice this when he commented on whether there is any effort from Japan for the reparation of victims who have survived and families of victims who have died from World War II UXO in the Solomon Islands.
He made the statement in an interview with Island Sun on August 28, 2025.
Japan and 48 Allied nations signed the treaty on September 8, 1951, to end World War II in the Pacific and Japan’s role as an imperial power.
It also set the foundation for the San Francisco System of US-led alliances in Asia and resolved issues of reparations and commercial relations.
In terms of reparations, the treaty calls for Japan to compensate Allied nations and civilians for damages suffered during the war.
“My response would start from our basic philosophy of listening very carefully to the needs that the Solomon Islands government recognises as needs to have from the Japanese government.
“But just to give you an overall frame of where we stand in terms of reparations and claims. As a country, going back 83 years, we lost the war. The war ended in 1945. And then in 1951, our prime minister agreed to a treaty of peace with Japan. It’s also called the San Francisco Treaty. And in that, we specifically, I mean, that treaty lays out all the questions about the reparations and claims,” said Japanese Ambassador Higuchi.
He also stated that at that time, Japan was a losing country so they had very limited resources to, well, sort of commit themselves at that time.
“So, we had legally, all these reparation questions settled at that time. But that doesn’t mean that we are not concerned about environmental issues,” he added.
The Ambassador stressed that the recent discovery of one of the warships near Guadalcanal, which was suspected of leaking oil and causing environmental damage, is also concerning.
“Of course, we are very concerned about those issues. And if there is any request from the Solomon Islands government to address such environmental issues, we will surely, seriously listen to those requests,” he said.
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