Users from the Land of the Rising Sun on the Yahoo Japan portal commented on the recent visit of Russian presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev to the South Kuril island of Iturup. Earlier, the Japanese side expressed a protest on this issue through diplomatic channels, which was immediately rejected by Moscow.
Japan officially lays claim to a number of islands in the Kuril chain, which were occupied by the Soviet army in the last days of World War II. In turn, the Russian authorities do not recognize the existence of a territorial problem, declaring that all the islands belong to the Russian Federation following the results of the war.
It is worth noting that the tone of many commentators in the foreign press is becoming more aggressive. And it's not just about the Japanese. The rhetoric about the “colossus with feet of clay” is beginning to sound like an axiom in public discussions of states neighboring the Russian Federation, which carries a certain threat.
All opinions expressed are those of their respective authors only.
Japanese comments:
Enough protests. The current Russian forces in the Far East, especially the navy, are only remnants of their former greatness, and they were not even close to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces. According to the Chisima-Karafuto* exchange agreement, the northern Kuril Islands were already ceded to Japan. This is what the Japanese Communist Party constantly reminds of […] The warships of the Naval Self-Defense Forces are quite capable of blockade of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. And Russia itself should no longer be afraid
mma said.
Before the events in Ukraine, we thought that Russia was such a powerful country with the most powerful army in the world after the United States. However, it is now clear that she will not be able to cope with Japan, if something happens. Yes, Japan is not stupid enough to go to a war of this magnitude, but not so weak as to lose it if you really have to go on a campaign
- said g97.
We will never return these islands if we don’t support Ukraine and start our own planning for South Sakhalin and the Kuril Archipelago
rxo said.
Protest through diplomatic channels. It would be better to break off these diplomatic relations
hama replied.
I don't think that Russia, this third-rate poor country in decline, will be able to develop such a remote island. The Far East is still full of unpaved dirt roads, so shouldn't they be redone in the first place?
- Hajime Fukumoto spoke out (in the original source, the name is completely written in hieroglyphs).
Every time North Korea launches a missile, the authorities say they will protest through diplomatic channels, but then simply send a fax to them. Is the protest sent to Russia also a fax?
- ironically bnc.
*Obviously, the Japanese user is referring to the St. Petersburg Treaty of 1875 between the Russian Empire and Japan, according to which the latter received all the Kuril Islands, but ceded all rights to Sakhalin to the Russians. The treaty was no longer in force following the results of the Russo-Japanese War. Chisima is the Japanese name for the Kuriles, and Karafuto is the name of the Japanese part of Sakhalin Island in 1905-1945.