” Its exceptionally regrettable that 76 years after the war, the concern of the Northern Territories hasnt been fixed and a peace treaty in between Japan and Russia hasnt been concurred,” Mr. Kishida said. “I will stand firm with talks over the islands.”
Prime Minister
The U.S. project for a broad alliance to hinder Russia is facing headwinds in Japan, which relies on Russian energy imports and wishes to keep talks alive with Moscow over contested islands. Moscow stated Monday that it had sent more than 20 warships to the seas near the islands and earlier this month informed Japan of plans for live-fire workouts in the region. Tokyo stated it lodged a protest.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, in gray match, gos to Iturup, an island at the southern end of the Kuril island chain, in July.
Fumio Kishida
emphasized discussion with Russia at an annual rally today to mark Japans claim to the contested islands, which sit at the southern end of the Kuril island chain and are referred to as the Northern Territories in Japan.
Picture:
Dmitry Astakhov/sputnik/Reuters
Because Tokyo initially desires an agreement for the return of some of the islands, Japan and Russia never signed a peace treaty after World War II. Russia states Japan should accept Moscows ownership. Some islands are so close to Japan that a Russian asylum seeker swam from one to the Japanese mainland last year.
” We believe that the absence of the peace treaty in our relations is ridiculous,” Russian President
Japans wariness about outraging Russia also stems from its financial and energy ties to Moscow, which are less comprehensive than those of another reluctant U.S. ally, Germany, however still substantial. Japan counts on imported natural gas for electricity and nearly one-tenth of those imports originate from Russia.
informed the plenary session of Septembers Eastern Economic Forum. He said Russia desired a complete normalization of relations with Japan, however, mentioning the big U.S. troop contingent in Japan, stated “there should be warranties versus surprises from the possible release of American militaries, let alone missile systems, near to our borders.”
A natural-gas plant on the Russian island of Sakhalin.
Vladimir Putin
Picture:
VLADIMIR SOLDATKIN/REUTERS
Japanese trading houses
& & Co. and
Mitsubishi Corp.
have a combined 22.5% share in an oil and gas job on the Russian island of Sakhalin.
Mitsui
” Im really concerned about the damage to economic activity and the views of financiers if sanctions are troubled Russia,” Mitsubishis chief financial officer,
Rahm Emanuel,
Russias ambassador to Japan said recently that Moscow would consider any sanctions enforced over the Ukraine crisis as equivalent to severing relations. The recently arrived U.S. ambassador to Japan, previous Chicago Mayor
Kazuyuki Masu,
A poll by the Nikkei newspaper in late January showed a roughly even divided in between people who believed Japan ought to align itself with the U.S. in any sanctions versus Russia related to the Ukraine crisis and those who thought Japan must follow its own course.
stated recently.
Japans foreign minister said Tuesday that Mr. Kishida, the prime minister, had actually spoken with President Biden about a response if Russia attacks Ukraine, however the foreign minister declined to discuss what Tokyo was all set to do.
Despite Japans reliance on energy imports, Tokyo said Wednesday it would provide a small quantity of its supply of liquefied natural gas to Europe as an emergency step following a demand from the U.S. and European Union.
waded into the conflict this week by criticizing the Russian ambassador and providing a video message saying Washington supported Japans claim to the disputed territory.
Russias foreign ministry spokesperson,
Previous Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, in 2019 in Osaka, Japan, shakes hands with Russias Vladimir Putin, with whom he invested years attempting to fix a territorial disagreement.
on Tuesday blamed the U.S. for what she called “keeping Japans synthetic territorial claims versus Russia afloat in order to keep both nations from long-term and full-scale cooperation.”
Maria Zakharova,
Photo:
Yuri Kadobnov/Press Pool
Former Japanese Prime Minister
The U.S. campaign for a broad alliance to deter Russia is dealing with headwinds in Japan, which relies on Russian energy imports and wants to keep talks alive with Moscow over challenged islands. Moscow stated Monday that it had actually sent more than 20 warships to the seas near the islands and earlier this month notified Japan of strategies for live-fire exercises in the region. Japan and Russia never signed a peace treaty after World War II since Tokyo initially wants an agreement for the return of some of the islands. Russia says Japan ought to accept Moscows ownership. Some islands are so close to Japan that a Russian asylum applicant swam from one to the Japanese mainland last year.
— Chieko Tsuneoka added to this short article.
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Russias armed force is continuing training and military workouts throughout all of Russia, consisting of in the Far East, Kremlin representative Dmitry Peskov informed reporters Monday. “These exercises should in no other way be a subject of concern and concern for our next-door neighbors,” he said.
Russia has also constructed up military centers on the 2 largest of the disputed islands over the last few years. Antiaircraft rocket systems were included late 2020 alongside seaside cruise-missile launchers deployed a few years earlier. Around 3,500 Russian soldiers are stationed there, according to the Japanese defense ministry.
Shinzo Abe
” If Russia can likewise use the southern Kurils in order to deter Japan from taking a strong stance on the Ukraine concern, then from their perspective that has strategic benefits,” Mr. Brown stated.
Compose to Alastair Gale at alastair.gale@wsj.com and Ann M. Simmons at ann.simmons@wsj.com
The U.S. and Japan have held a series of naval workouts in the Pacific region with Western European nations such as the U.K. and Germany in recent months. Russia and China have held their own joint workouts, including an uncommon joint circuit of Japan by their warships in October last year.
invested almost 8 years in power courting Mr. Putin over the islands, including welcoming the Russian leader for talks at a hot spring resort in Mr. Abes ancestral hometown in 2016.
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The talks made little headway, and after Mr. Abe resigned in 2020, Russia stepped up its pressure. Last year, it held naval workouts near the islands during the Tokyo Olympics, and it has actually sent out a succession of senior leaders to visit them.
Military experts say control of the Kuril island chain is necessary to Russia to guarantee that its Pacific fleet, including its nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines, has uncontested access to the Pacific. Russia is also worried about the increasing existence of North Atlantic Treaty Organization military forces in the Asia-Pacific region, stated James Brown, an expert on Japan-Russia relations at Temple University in Tokyo.
In a press conference, President Biden stated the U.S. would stop Nord Stream 2– a pipeline to carry gas from Russia to Germany– if Moscow attacks Ukraine. The German chancellor expressed support but didnt explicitly state the job would be halted. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
