Russia notes one main concern in Northeast Asia: Japan under PM Kishida
Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The Russian Federation notes one main concern in Northeast Asia related to Japan. Yes, America will try to pull the strings of South Korea – related to America having military bases throughout Japan and South Korea. However – from the Meiji Restoration onwards – China, Russia, and Koreans are the three main groups of animosity that serve Japanese nationalism.
The legacy of Yoshida Shigeru in the post-World War Two period was the economic angle. He warned about international entanglements and argued for Japan to adopt a quietist approach to geopolitical issues. However, since the administration of former leader Barack Obama of America, the containment policies of China have once more emboldened nationalists within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Shinzo Abe, the former leader of Japan, played a stronger hand towards China. However, Abe still maintained appropriate channels open and didn’t overstep the Taiwan issue when in power. Also, Abe tried to build relations with the Russian Federation.
The two latest administrations of the former leader Yoshihide Suga – and the current leader Fumio Kishida – is anti-China and anti-Russian Federation. This is in line with the historical legacy of the Meiji Period (1868-1912). Hence, the human-rights angle is being used against China concerning Hong Kong and Xinjiang (Buddhist Tibet no longer hits the headlines) – LDP elites are also supporting Taiwan to a much higher level.
The Kishida administration – following on from the anti-China Suga administration – sprouts anti-Russian Federation statements at the drop of a hat concerning the crisis in Ukraine. Japan is now the most anti-Russian Federation nation in Asia related to rhetoric and economic sanctions. Thus, Japan is the main geopolitical security issue for the Russian Federation in Northeast Asia. This concerns Kishida and his anti-Russian Federation stance, endless sanctions by Japan put on the Russian Federation, having American military bases dotted throughout the country, and Japan’s endless upgrade of its armed forces while only issuing negative statements toward China, North Korea, and the Russian Federation.
Kishida said, “We will show that a reckless act of violence comes with a huge price.”
He continued, “The international community’s relationship with Russia can no longer be the same as before.”
However, the Kishida administration (concerning his silence) is fine with the extrajudicial killings of even minors in West Papua by the security apparatus of Indonesia and the bombing of Yemen by several Gulf powers. Likewise, when Saudi Arabia recently killed 81 people on the same day, Kishida didn’t rally the human rights cause. Also, when the armed forces of Ukraine kill Russians in the Donbas region – a regular occurrence in recent years – this also didn’t concern Japan. Therefore, with Kishida coming from a traditional political family – like many ruling LDP elites – the nationalism of Meiji continues when it comes to China and the Russian Federation.
Modern Tokyo Times recently said, “If Japan was principled and put sanctions on America for dropping Agent Orange on Vietnam, supporting right-wing death squads via Operation Condor in South America, supporting the massacres of untold numbers in Indonesia (killing vast numbers of communists, ethnic cleansing in East Timor, ethnic cleansing in West Papua), and the bombing of Iraq (false flag and weapons of mass destruction), Libya, and destabilizing many nations including Syria: then Japan would be deemed principled. However, the deaths of millions of people concerning the above conflicts on several continents by America barely raised an eyebrow in Japan.”
Kishida is fully aware of all the above – just like the elites in London and Washington.
Abe recently said, “A Taiwan emergency is a Japan emergency. That is, it’s an emergency for the US-Japan alliance as well.”
Hence, nationalism and anti-foreign sentiment in Japan – even if done in a mild sense to more outright nationalist sentiments – like praying to past War Criminals at Yasukuni Shrine (all recent leaders of the LDP do at various stages of their careers) – to milder areas including linking foreign people with spreading Covid-19 and keeping them out of the country – is a natural reality that flows. Therefore, the Russian Federation should note the vulnerability of the Russian Far East given America’s intrigues and the anti-Russian Federation policies of Kishida.
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