First, the number of residents in Sakhalin Island and Hokkaido is very different; Sakhalin Island covers an area of 76,400 square kilometers and Hokkaido covers an area of 83,000 square kilometers. The two islands are almost the same size, but the population difference is more than ten times. The population of Sakhalin Island is 500,000 (20 10 data), while the Japanese residents in Hokkaido are 5.7 million (20 12 data). It can be seen that Sakhalin Island, like mainland Russia, is
Second, Sakhalin (Russia) lags behind Hokkaido (Japan) in economic development. Judging from the economic development of the two places, Japan, as the third largest economy in the world, has a much higher economic development index than Russia, and Hokkaido is ahead of Sakhalin in terms of total economic development and per capita income.
Sakhalin Island and Hokkaido, facing each other across the sea via Zonggu Strait (Lashio Luzi Strait), are geographically close. Both of them are rich in mineral and aquatic resources, and there is little difference in resource types. Therefore, it is not surprising that Sakhalin Island has less people and less money, and seafood is cheaper than Hokkaido.