Northern Territories Day

Oh dear, the crazies will out bursting eardrums.

What a nonsense,this government and many people in Japan still live in a 19th century mentality,with a rampant revanchism that is growing in these years. Japan should really move on about this matter,then Germany and Italy could technically claim even more territories. Germany after the second world war lost Eastern Prussia and the teutonic city of Koenigsberg on the east and the two provinces of Alsace and Lorena which were long time contended with France,these were not colonies and especially the eastern territories of Eastern Prussia were for centuries part of the Prussian Kingdom first and then the German Empire,millions of german people had to move to west because their homes were assimilated by the then Soviet Union poland and slovakia. And this can be applied for Italy as well,that after the last world war lost a whole region,which is Istria. Istria was also by majority an italian province but Yugoslavia took it in the same way as the soviet got the japanese northern territories. Many istrians from Pola and Fiume had to flee their native homes to what was left of the italian kingdom,so in the end Germany and Italy suffered even more by loss of native territories than Japan. But do you see Germany and Italy debating with their neighborhood to get "back" these lost regions? Of course not,because after all Germany Japan and Italy started the war,and caused millions of loss and destruction around the globe,knowing this the people of Italy and Germany and their governments accept the consequences of their actions. So how about Japan start ot move on and accept the loss of these rocks in the north as a consequence of their aggressive militaristic expansions back in the day? Are we living in 2017 or 1938? Seriously these right-wing nuts are not making the situation easier in the region.

nonsense. We want our hoppo Ryodo back. quite right that they should be part of the national calendar. plenty of places round the world have territorial disputes with far less substance to them (Falklands? Gibraltar?)

Shouldn't that banner be in Russian?

And no doubt Abe followed this by calling Putin to ask for cooperation and understanding, hoping that this and the supported sanctions won't in any way interfere with improving relations and that Japan should not be treated negatively for it.

The islands are Russian. Deal with it.

Oh dear, the crazies will out bursting eardrums.

Yup.

William77, couldn't have said it any better!

Agree. EXCELLENT post. And very informative! Thank you.

Does Shinzo Abe EVER do any real work like reviving the economy or reforming the business sector, or is his time just totally spent on useless rightwing silliness?

My mother always taught me that "please" works wonders.

Japan definitely needs these islands back. Having Slavs so close to Japan is unsettling

William77 - that is one of the best posts ever made on this site.

Japan lost the Northern Territories and parts of Okinawa

It seems that 99.999999% of Japanese don't think Russia would renturn the northern islands to Japan and also Abe thinks same way. Problem is former all LDP prime ministers promised people to return them from Russia someday. It seems that Abe can't stop saying it because of elections.

kwatt

Many Japanese believed some of the Northern Islands would be back to Japan when Putin visited Japan last year. Where did the figure 99.99999% come from?

Boy, just look at those people really getting into the Northern Territories Day spirit!

Great response, William 77 but let me add some information. I live in Hokkaido and most of the people I know have accepted that Japan lost the islands in WWII. Possession is, after all , 99 percent of the law. The problem is Russia dangles the "gives us aid and we will further discuss the matter" carrot. This doesn't excuse bad behavior on the part of certain Japanese but hopeful explains some of the resentment.

tina

You must be very naive about Putin. Even if Putin said he returns 2 or all islands to Japan, he will never return them whatever Japanese believe or not. Because that is Russian and Islands are a big political card. Most Russsians have no idea to return them to Japan from the beginning. A few hundreds of northern natives want them back for decades but most Japanese in mainland really don't care about such islands. Hope seems hopeless about the islands.

tinawatanabe: "Many Japanese believed some of the Northern Islands would be back to Japan when Putin visited Japan last year. Where did the figure 99.99999% come from?"

Russia proposed that way back when, and Japan shot it down because the right-wingers here said nothing less than all four would be acceptable. Russia has hinted that they would still stand behind the old proposal, but any Japanese PM that accepted only two islands back would be committing immediate political suicide, even if he lied to the public, saying it was a strategy to get the other two later.

Face it, any hope of getting even a couple of the islands back will always be lost by right-wingers who demand them all back, and Russia will always refuse. As time ticks on, the islands are more and more recognized as Russian.

most Japanese in mainland really don't care about such islands.

They do. Why do you think the people in the photo are rallying? Russians often complain that the Japanese always only talk about the Northern Territories to them.

tina

I seldom see such national rallys on regular Asahi News or Yomiuri News or others in Japanese Language. Most readers seem seldom too, except Japantoday. Most are usually not interested in such national rallys of nothern territories because islands are impossible to be back. As for me, I hope islands should be returned though.

kwatt, If holding rally daily makes the island back, they would hold rally daily.

islands are impossible to be back.

for the time being.

@Kwatt: Do you have poll or some data what most Japanese consider about Kuril islands? If you don't have, what Inuit people and Ainu people who live on Kuril islands think. Japan sex to believe Japan is too small and tried to make entire Asian continent and all. Asia as its territory and Japanese people did Lt oppose.

tinawatanabe: "for the time being."

No. Forever. There is only ONE way that Japan will see any of the islands back; they agree to two islands back with a statement saying the issue is permanently settled and can never be brought up again, as well as paying Russia huge amounts of money. The right-wingers here would NEVER allow the former to happen. So, you'll never see the islands back, ever.

smith, History reveals that nothing is forever.

tinawatanabe: "smith, History reveals that nothing is forever."

True, like the Japanese Empire and how pushing for what they are starting to push for again led to the nations destruction and the current island messes. The only thing that history will show is that there once was a argument over whom the islands belonged to, but as time passed they were recognized as the sovereign territory of Russia by all but Japan, because Japanese politicians were too pig-headed to accept a compromise.

This is just standard Japanese politics. They play "nice" to the neighbors (like having a hyped meeting of cooperation and etc) and then does something like this that pisses them off (that makes the local right-wing voters happy). Then blames the neighbors for not wanting to cooperate the very nice and polite Japanese, while having the gall to tell them "stop sticking in the past!". Well Japan, you losing these Northern Territories to Russia is part of the past, so I suggest you do as you say. Really, the only country that Japan wants to get along with is the US, like in a servitude kind of way.