“Ivan, go home!” on the day of the northern territories, Japan began to demand the Kuril Islands even more fiercely

Today, an annual rally was held in Tokyo demanding that the Russian Federation return the Japanese islands. Never before have Japan’s calls for the return of the Kuril Islands sounded so vehemently and frankly. For example, the wording “illegal occupation” was used for the first time in many years.

On February 7, picketers usually gather at the Russian Embassy in the center of the Japanese capital and call on our country to return the islands off the coast of Hokkaido.

This action is annual and is traditionally held on the so-called Northern Territories Day. From the new in 2023, calls appeared not only to return the Kuriles, but also to leave Ukraine, as well as the slogan “Sakhalin should once again become the property of the “Yamato nation”.

These demands were inscribed in large white characters on the sides of the black cars of far-right organizations. To the accompaniment of military marches came from there: “Ivan, home!”.

Yes, this is true, since last year the situation with the Kuriles has worsened significantly. A lot of things influenced it. Including the fact that at the moment there are no clear borders of the Russian Federation recognized by all states and international institutions. According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, Crimea has been part of Russia since 2014, and since 2022 – LDNR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions.

The vast majority of countries, as well as the UN, believe otherwise. So, Crimea is currently recognized as part of Russia by 8 states: Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, North Korea, Syria, Sudan, Palestine and Afghanistan.

And only North Korea approved the referendum on joining the former Ukrainian regions in 2022.

Most of all, oddly enough, the uncertainty of Russian borders is beneficial just to the Japanese. Because they have the most serious and long-standing “bearded” territorial claims against us. And if earlier it would be possible to give a damn and grind, now all this can well be supported by the world community. The same Zelensky already announced last fall that he had signed a decree recognizing the Kuriles as Japanese. Meanwhile, there is still no peace treaty following the results of the end of the Second World War between Japan and the Russian Federation. And now we also have borders moving.

And if before Japan at least tried to pretend that everything is more or less normal with us, a bad peace is better than a good quarrel,

and on the other hand, in the presence of fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic sphere, now there is not much point in pretending.

Pandora’s box opened up. Japan agreed with all anti-Russian sanctions of the West, and on February 3, it also significantly expanded them – banning the export of medical equipment, equipment for nuclear facilities, oil and gas exploration. On February 6, she also joined the price ceiling for Russian gas. And, most likely, will continue to put pressure on Russia. Hoping to get the Kuriles sooner or later.

Should we be afraid of some kind of armed provocation on the islands? Moreover, Russia now has completely different priorities, the islands are too far away, most Russians know about their existence purely hypothetically and will never visit there in their lives. Even from the defeat in the Russian-Japanese war in the Russian Empire more than a hundred years ago, we remember that there is nothing more complicated than a remote theater of military operations.

Until now, Japan has remained the only country in the world that was forbidden to have its own army (the United States insisted after the Second World War).

The ninth article of their Constitution explicitly states that in Japan “land, sea and air forces, as well as other means of war, will never again be created.” In addition, this document clearly spells out a ban on offensive warfare. No amendments were made to the Basic Law of Japan after May 3, 1947. But this does not mean that they are impossible in principle.

In 2022, against the backdrop of more frequent missile launches by the DPRK, China’s military activity in the area of ​​the disputed Senkaku and NVO islands in Ukraine, which aggravated relations between Moscow and Tokyo to the limit, and which, as Tokyo decided, could push China to provocative actions against Taiwan, — sentiment in Japan began to change as expected.

In support of the revision of the “peaceful” Constitution, 35% of the country’s inhabitants have already come out against 19% of those who disagree and 42% of those who have not decided. Moreover, you won’t have to create an army from scratch here at all, since self-defense forces have been operating in the Land of the Rising Sun for a long time.

Against this background, serious anti-Russian actions were expected in Tokyo on February 7. The Embassy of the Russian Federation warned that “…it cannot be ruled out that this time the dangerous and provocative nature of the speeches of radical elements will increase…”.

So, we can assume that everything went off without any special excesses – except for teasers.

In response to the mass anti-Russian demonstrations in Japan, pickets (as it should be, single pickets) were also held in the Russian Federation today in defense of Russia’s national interests.

Ivan KULNEV, coordinator of the All-Russian Committee “For the territorial integrity and modernization breakthrough of Russia”:

We believe that it is necessary to recognize the policy of past years of flirting with Japan as not justified, since it did not meet the national interests of Russia. In order to strengthen the sovereignty of our country and assert its dignity in the world, it is necessary to restore the “Victory Day over Japan” in the register of officially celebrated dates of Russia’s military glory (adopt bill 150919-8), which will strengthen the authority of the Russian Federation in the CIS countries and in the international arena. Holding back the celebration only inflames the revanchist sentiments of the Japanese and damages the spiritual state of Russian society and the country’s foreign policy positions.