World football in Qatar is the podcast taking you behind the scenes with all

32 teams at the World Cup. We're hearing from the players, the fans, and people

in Qatar telling the truly global story of the competition. That's World

Football in Qatar from the BBC World Service. Find it wherever you get your BBC

podcasts.

Thanks for downloading the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service. We're

going back to 1947 when thousands of Japanese families were expelled from their

island homes by Soviet troops. I've been speaking to Yuzo Matsumoto, who's now 81.

Let's start on the 15th of August 1945 when Japan's Emperor Hirohito made an

unprecedented radio broadcast. The Emperor, who many Japanese had never heard

speak until now, is ending his country's involvement in World War II, and

agreeing to the Allied forces terms. The end of the war would lead to big changes

for a little boy called Yuzo and his tiny community. I thought we would

probably be able to go back. We really wanted to go back. Between Japan and

Russia, there's a chain of tiny islands, and because of their strategic

importance, they've been argued over for many years. The four nearest to Japan are

known by the Japanese as the northern territories, whereas the Russians call them

the southern curials. Yuzo Matsumoto was born on one of them, Eterofu, in 1941.

A beautiful natural environment dotted with many lakes and ponds, and 80% of the

island is forest. I was born in Rubetz village on Eterofu Island, in a

community called Tennei. My father worked as the postmaster. I have five siblings.

There are around 38 houses, and the Japanese army and navy was based there. So

...