Nemuro Strait

{{Short description|Strait separating Russia and Japan}}

File:Japanese installation regarding the disputed Kuril islands.jpg with details and claims regarding the disputed Kuril islands]]Nemuro Strait ({{langx|ja|根室海峡}}), also called Notsuke Strait and Kunashirsky Strait ({{langx|ru|Кунаширский пролив}}), is a strait separating Kunashir Island of the Kuril Islands, Russia (claimed by Japan) from the Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaidō, Japan. The strait connects the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the Izmeny Strait (пролив Измены) in the south. It is located on the southeastern borders of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, and Nemuro Subprefecture of Japan. Along the strait runs the border between the two states.{{cite web |url=https://www.getty.edu/vow/TGNFullDisplay?find=Nemuro&place=&nation=&prev_page=1&english=Y&subjectid=1115211 |title=Thesaurus of Geographic Names Full Record Display Nemuro Strait (strait) |website=www.getty.edu |access-date=14 March 2023}}

The Strait of Nemuro is approximately {{convert|24|km|mi}} wide and {{convert|74|km|mi}} long.{{cite web |url=http://bse.sci-lib.com/article67427.html |title=Кунаширский пролив |trans-title=Kunashir Strait (Nemura) |work=Great Soviet Encyclopedia |via=bse.sci-lib.com |access-date=14 March 2023}} The maximum depth is {{convert|2500|m|ft}}. The Japanese towns of Rausu and Shibetsu overlook the strait.

The history of this land is interwoven with the abundant natural resource; salmon. As such it has come to be known as "the mecca of salmon".{{Cite web |last=Northerncross |title=Nemuro Strait – directly linked to the mornings of Japan |url=https://kai-hokkaido.com/en/feature_vol44_prologue/ |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=Hokkaido Magazine KAI |language=en}}