According to Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, June 25, according to Russian media reports on the 24th, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill to change the “Anniversary of the End of World War II” on September 3 to “Anniversary of the Victory of the Anti-Japanese Militarism War and the Commemoration of the End of World War II.” day”. The law is a countermeasure against Japan’s anti-Russian policy.
Analysts pointed out that since the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, Japan has followed the United States and the West in condemning and sanctioning Russia, vigorously supporting Ukraine, and trying to promote its own military loosening by exaggerating external threats in exchange for the support of the United States and the West for its military security strategy, and seeking geopolitical support in the Asia-Pacific region. self-interest. Russia has adopted a series of countermeasures against Japan, which completely wiped out Japan’s previous diplomatic achievements with Russia on territorial and other issues. It is difficult for Russia-Japan relations to improve in the short term.
Deconstructing Japan’s “moral superiority”
According to reports, this bill was proposed by Kartapolov, Chairman of the National Defense Committee of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament), and others in June last year. The bill was passed in the State Duma and the Federation Council (the upper house of parliament) on June 20 and 21 this year, respectively, and officially became law after Putin signed it.
The explanatory document of the law pointed out that after Russia launched a special military operation, Japan and Western countries jointly launched unfriendly actions against Russia, and the change of the name of the September 3 Memorial Day is one of the “countermeasures”.
On September 2, 1945, Japanese representatives signed the instrument of surrender to the Allies aboard the USS Missouri moored in Tokyo Bay. September 3 has been celebrated in Russia as the anniversary of the end of World War II.
Analysts pointed out that after the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, Japan joined the US and the West in condemning and sanctioning Russia, portraying Russia as a “destroyer of the international order,” while itself calling itself a “pacifist country” and occupying the so-called “moral high ground.” This time, Russia added the words “anti-Japanese militarism” to the name of the anniversary of the end of World War II. “moral superiority”.
Chen Yang, a visiting researcher at the Center for Japanese Studies at Liaoning University, believes that Russia’s move is also a counterattack to the anti-Russian narrative of the West about the history of World War II in recent years, which will help boost the patriotic sentiment of the Russian people.
Japan has other plans against Russia
Before the Ukrainian crisis escalated, Japan’s policy toward Russia was mainly to promote the settlement of territorial issues and the conclusion of a peace treaty through economic cooperation. Especially when former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in power, Abe and Putin interacted frequently, and the two countries maintained a relatively good relationship.
However, after the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, Japan’s policy toward Russia has undergone a drastic change, following the United States and the West in condemning and sanctioning Russia. Japan holds the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven (G7) this year. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Ukraine in March this year and invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to attend the G7 Hiroshima Summit in May. In related meetings such as the Hiroshima summit, Japan dominated the anti-Russian agenda and played an important role in the Western anti-Russian camp. Japan also actively supports Ukraine. It provided non-lethal equipment such as helmets and bulletproof vests to Ukraine at the beginning of the conflict, and recently announced the provision of heavy trucks and military rations.
Analysts pointed out that by emphasizing the threat of Russia, Japan played up the so-called “most severe and complicated security environment after the war” domestically, so as to find excuses for its own military loosening. In exchange for its support for Japan’s military security strategy.
Chen Yang pointed out that Japan has repeatedly emphasized the so-called “Ukraine today is East Asia tomorrow” and “the security of Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific region are inseparable.” Under such repeated renderings, the Japanese government did not encounter much resistance from public opinion when it revised the three national security documents at the end of last year, and easily achieved a major breakthrough in military power, which was unimaginable before.
Russia-Japan Relations Difficult to Turn Around
Faced with Japan’s anti-Russian policy, Russia has adopted a series of countermeasures, including including Japan in the list of “unfriendly countries”, stopping discussions with Japan on the issue of signing a peace treaty, and expelling several staff members of the Japanese embassy in Russia , Increase military pressure on Japan by holding military exercises and air patrols around Japan.
Under Russia’s countermeasures, Japan’s long-term achievements in diplomacy with Russia through economic promotion have disappeared. Previously, the two countries carried out activities such as “common economic activities” and “visa-free exchanges” in the disputed South Thousand Islands (known as the four northern islands in Japan), in which the issue of sovereignty was downplayed. Although the Japanese side failed to achieve the ultimate goal of resolving the territorial issue through economic cooperation, it still retains some hope. After Japan followed the United States and the West in imposing extreme sanctions on Russia, Russia strengthened its sovereignty declaration over the disputed islands by economic and military means, and stopped these activities. Japanese media quoted officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying that the negotiations between the two countries so far will return to “zero basis.”
Chen Yang believes that Russia’s countermeasures show that it has no illusions about the improvement and development of Russia-Japan relations for a considerable period of time in the future. The political mutual trust established between the two countries has completely collapsed, and the possibility of deepening cooperation in economic and trade fields no longer exists. Conflicts and confrontations between the two sides on historical and territorial issues may increase in the future, which will further impact the already icy bilateral relations. (Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Zan)
Edit Xin Jing Return to Sohu to see more
Editor:
Disclaimer: The opinions of this article represent only the author himself. Sohu is an information release platform, and Sohu only provides information storage space services.