Tension mounts in the Far East between the Russian Federation and Japan, whose reaction to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis has shocked Moscow to the point of launching the most massive military maneuvers in Russian history in the waters off the Sea of Japan.
Tokyo, unlike Rome and Berlin, does not hide concerns that are not of an economic nature, but of a geopolitical nature: if democratic nations do not take a hard line in the hypothesis that Russia invades Ukraine, then others, such as China, would be encouraged to take control of neighboring states: "If something happens on the border with Ukraine, that result could affect the calculations of other nations in Asia."Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said in an interview. "We must be very compact on this issue". He then sent a message to Vladimir Putin, claiming that Japan wants an agreement with Russia, but also that Japanese sovereignty extends to the four Kuril islands occupied by Moscow in 1945 and still called the "Northern islands" in their homeland.
“We mean - he continued - pursue permanent negotiations on the basis of our fundamental position, which is the desire to conclude a peace agreement after the territorial question is resolved ". As if this were not enough, Japan has also started to divert some loads of liquefied natural gas purchased in the Middle East to Europe as a sign of political solidarity.
Those interested in geopolitics know that Russia (and the former USSR of which Moscow is the heir by right) and Japan have no never signed a peace treaty after World War II.
Those who follow the international news are aware of the fact that Russian diplomacy has repeatedly offered projects of great economic appeal in exchange for the recognition of a factual situation. Those who know Japanese and Russian history realize that that peace treaty is not very likely to be concluded.
Tokyo, in the recent past, did not ask for economic advantages in the event that Russia did not consent to the return of the "Northern islands", but ... an apology for having treacherously and treacherously occupied the Kuril Islands. This is something that Russia, which has dozens of open questions with neighboring countries - and not only - in half the world, will never, ever grant.
Here we are, then, at the starting point: this month Moscow has deployed a naval fleet of 24 warships in waters close to the Japanese archipelago, a move that the Japanese government has seen as one spinoff of the escalation of international tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
"The Russian military - according to Japanese defense minister Nobuo Kishi - they are stepping up their activity in the East and West to show their strength. Indeed, a large-scale military exercise by the entire Russian naval fleet at this time of year is extremely unusual. ". Playing on the Chinese rivalry with Japan, Moscow, as written in Japanese Defense Paper 2021 - proves more and more the "Tendency to increase the activity of the Russian armed forces in the vicinity of Japan, ... and to deploy the most modern equipment in the Far East region".
Thus, while Tokyo protests for the further deployment of military forces in the Kuril Islands and Moscow is flexing its muscles in the Pacific as well, the world is watching what happens around yet another unsolved conflict on the borders of the former Russian empire.
Photo: MoD Russian Federation / Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
