Kunashir Island Kunashir Island Kunashir Island (; , "Kunashiri-tō"; or クナシㇽ, "Kunasir"), possibly meaning "Black Island" or "Grass Island" in Ainu, is the southernmost island of the Kuril Islands, an archipelago under Russian control, among which Kunashir Island and another three islands are claimed by Japan (see Kuril Islands dispute). It lies between the straits of Kunashir Island, Catherine, Izmena, and South Kuril. Kunashir Island is visible from the nearby Japanese island of Hokkaido, from which it is separated by the Nemuro Strait. Kunashir Island is formed by four volcanoes which were separate islands but have since joined together by low-lying areas
Supreme Court of Christmas Island annexed to the Straits Settlements colony on 10 June 1900. Japanese Imperial Forces occupied the island during the Second World War. After the end of the Second World War, a military court was set up in Singapore to prosecute seven people for mutiny during the war. With the dissolution of the Straits Settlements in 1946, the island was included within the new Singapore colony. On 1 October 1958, sovereignty over the island was transferred to the Australian Government following a payment to the Government of Singapore, after a brief period as a separate British colony. Until 1992, Singapore laws continued