Karafuto Prefecture

The Karafuto Prefecture (Japanese桦 太 庁, Karafuto -chō ) was a governed by the Japanese Empire area that at times the southern part of Sakhalin Island south of 50 ° Northern latitude, at times also included the entire island. The Treaty of Portsmouth Karafuto in 1905 was a colony of Japan, in 1943 it was just as Karafuto Prefecture part of Japan.

Capital was initially Ōdomari (now Korsakov ), from 1907 Toyohara (now Yuzhno -Sakhalinsk ).

After the defeat of Japan in World War II in 1945 ended the period of Japanese administration Karafutos. 1951 Japan gave up its claims to Karafuto with the Peace Treaty of San Francisco. Since that time, the southern part of Sakhalin is part of Russia (or the Soviet Union). Notwithstanding the provisions of the Treaty, it was part of Japan and some Japanese parties claim it is still officially part of Japan, with the result of political tensions with Russia. On Japanese maps Sakhalin is represented as a no man's land.

• Japanese Prefecture
• Empire of Japan
• Historical territory (Asia)
• Sakhalin