Russia says U.S. military presence in Japan impedes any peace treaty with Tokyo

Russia not returning what it stole impedes it more.

Nice try Russia. Try again...

I think Russia and China have the same speech writers.

lol

Oh golly. What a shame.

Guess there won’t be a treaty. How ever will we live with ourselves?

Hey, you don’t suppose this is a bovine droppings excuse, do you?

Fortunately, all signs point to Japan recognizing that Russia is the enemy.

maybe all of Russia’s neighbors should just take what is rightfully theirs? Good luck fighting that war Putin.

Enough of Russia and China's threatening rhetoric towards peaceful nations. Japan should increase defense spending, and start exporting arms and munitions to help the free world defend itself from these thugs. Yes. Russia is the enemy.

Signing any "peace treaty" with the present government of Russia wouldn't be worth the paper it was written on.

Whatever the current or future status of U.S. military presence in Japan

The presence of US forces in Japan is an impediment to Russia ever invading Japan.

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-planned-attack-japan-2021-fsb-letters-1762133

The continuing Russian occupation of the 4 Southern Kurile islands is an impediment to ever reaching a Peace Treaty.

But a "Peace Treaty" with a country that has invaded a neighbor to which it has stated that it will not invade is not worth the paper it is written on.

This is like that time Russia said to Ukraine give up your nukes, we won't invade, you can trust us. Japan should can look to Ukraine and see that trusting Russia is like Trusting Trump - figure out how much you're ready to lose, because you're going to lose it.

As if any treaty involving Russia is reliable or trustworthy.

Russia under Putin is continuing with the propaganda tactics used by the USSR, which include pushing a wide variety of different messages hoping that one will stick in the minds of the more poorly educated, and that the volume of messages published, many being conspiracy theories, will confuse some others. Too bad some in western media and their politicians use similar tactics, a current example is. a western pol spreading more lies about one of his political opponents doing a dirty deed on a desk. In Internet days it's easier for the propagandists to push lies.

@JJE

Northern Territories are an agreed part of the settlement of WWII

Incorrect. The Russians illegally occupy them in violation of The San Francisco Peace Treaty signed between the Allies and Japan in 1951.

Here is a starting point for your research:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_San_Francisco

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Japanese_Neutrality_Pact

You should also be aware the The Soviet Union signed multiple "friendship" pacts with Nazi Germany that enabled The Holocaust:

One example is the The Nazi-Soviet Pact signed in August 1939. It paved the way for Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to invade and occupy Poland that September. The pact was an agreement permitting them to carve up spheres of influence in eastern Europe, while pledging not to attack each other for 10 years. Less than two years later, however, Hitler launched an invasion of the Soviet Union.

Later the Soviets took a page from Hitler's playbook and broke violated their treaty with Japan to illegally seize the islands we are discussing.

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-soviet-pact

Let me try to comprehend the twist of Russian logic: So in the vaning days of WW2 after the US had utterly destroyed Japan, uncle Stalin decides to BREAK the non-aggression treaty with Tojo by attacking Japan --and in this clever Soviet strategy creating the monstrosity claled the DPRK resulting in the eventual death of millions of Koreans as well as steaingl Japanese islands.

But if Japan wants to "earn" a formal peace treaty to end WW2 with Russia, she would have to remove the armed forces of the conquerors of the entire country.

Yes that makes perfect sense, Japan would have new piece of Russian paper plus in extension the Chinese Communist Party to rule over Japan! I'm sure that is the most attractive choice --for Xi Jinping.

No need to rush. Japan has nothing to lose by not signing a peace treaty with Russia. Meanwhile, to improve tattered relations between the two countries, Japan might import GMO-free food from Russia, where production of genetically modified foods is prohibited.

I would rather have the Americans in Japan than the Russians.

Larry:

Japan democracy is nothing like the US , a friend in need ,is a friend indeed,the LDP could not get elected dog catcher in the US,I am.not Anti Japanese,I am anti ignorance,I do not tolerate ignorance from an American,an especially from a foreigner

Why is that you incessantly claim to be American, yet you have by far the most indecipherably poor grasp of English of literally anyone on here?

Well, so be it. Because what would the alternative look like? Exactly, a 'peace' treaty but then including Russian military occupation. lol

Yeah... and with a "friend" like Russia who needs enemies. The U.S. and Japan have, over the last almost 80 years, built a lot of mutual trust and as much as Japan and the U.S. are different, they've set common Democratic goals.

Japan has been doing just fine without Russia lol. Russia's just desperate for friends now.

JohnToday  12:20 pm JST

Russia’s international policy has been extremely poor so far and not in good interest of Russian people. Taking entire world as a target is stupid. The only allies Russia has is China and North Korea, not the best allies you would want to have.

i think that Russian people are good people. I feel sorry for them having poor governments regularly.

It's that way with any nation. Arnold Schwarzeneggar sent a video message to the Russian people remembering the glasnost days and stating how good the people there really are. He also said that Putin is using and misguiding them now.

It's that way with any nation. Many of my uncles served in the Korean war and spoke of respect for Oriental people, esp. Koreans and Japanese and their cultures. No love for the NK or Chinese Communist regimes, however.

When I served in the Navy we had the 1986 Libya war and the Tanker war with Iran in 1987 - 1988. Do I hate Libyans, Iranians, Middle Eastern people, Persians or Arabs? Absolutely not. I have no love for Moammar or that totalitarian regime of Iran. And I don't like those Houthis causing a ruckus in the Red Sea either.

When you fight or go to war with a nation, you hate the enemy government but not the people.

i think that Russian people are good people. I feel sorry for them having poor governments regularly.

I agree . Thats a fair sentiment, ( which also applies to most countries around the world including US and Japan ( being the other two mentioned in this article).

Wasn't aware that the American and Japanese governments were rounding up their own citizens by the hundreds of thousands to send them to death and dismemberment, all the while locking up or just plain murdering any of their fellow citizens who complain about it.

The Americans are not occupying any lands. On the other hand however the Russians......

Russia’s international policy has been extremely poor so far and not in good interest of Russian people. Taking entire world as a target is stupid. The only allies Russia has is China and North Korea, not the best allies you would want to have.

i think that Russian people are good people. I feel sorry for them having poor governments regularly.

A peace treaty with that insane Russian maniac would not be worth the paper it is written on.

"" stumbling block ""!??

We have seen what Putin does when there are NO blocks.

Ukraine was stripped of it's Nukes with the help of Russia and NATO then then look what happened to Ukraine.

Never trust Putin.

this is the biggest joke of the century. Russia know nobody gonna believe it, but yet they speak it out without shame. Thank you Russia for providing us the joke in this brand new day

The United States' military presence in Japan has always been a stumbling block in Moscow and Tokyo reaching a peace treaty, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Another Russian statement that blows its credibility out the window. After WWII, in which Russian involvement against Japan was limited to the final month of the war. All other combatants had no problem signing a peace treaty with the defeated Imperial Japan. The fact Russia did not do so had nothing to do with the occupying forces in Japan, let alone the return of Japanese sovereignty after the occupation ended in 1952.

Russia wants to be able to apply the most pressure on Japan to ensure a more favorable outcome for Russia, but it remains hampered if it cant use its military superiority to gain concessions from Japan, thanks to its continuing alliance with the US and the fact the US forces have a permanent presence in Japan, with full Japanese consent.

So Russia chooses to not sign a peace treaty with Japan until it can squeeze out of Japan money or territory or both, or even the rights to have its own military bases on Japanese territory. Would Japan want to swap out US forces for Russian rabble roaming the streets of Japan at will? I think not. But the full end price for regaining the four Japanese islands held hostage by Russia would be expensive and long lasting. Japan is smart enough to not allow that to happen and to recognize that keeping US forces close is the best protection against large hostile nations in its vicinity having their way with Japan.

The cost of all the US oversea bases is only $25 billion and that much would not be saved by closing them.

Russia: “The U.S. is a barrier to peace!”

Meanwhile, in Ukraine. . .

Best to just decouple from Russia until they can learn to act like a civilized nation. Treat them like DPRK.

Of course, Russia says!

They just don't get the facts - as always!

Contrary to the posts by misinformed commenters, there was no intention on the part of the United States for the USSR(Russia) to invade and occupy the 4 Southern Kurile Islands.

"“The Kuril islands shall be handed over to the Soviet Union.” There was, however, no definition of the term Kuril Islands. Since the Habomai Islands and Shikotan Island have been traditionally regarded as an island group distinct from the Kuril archipelago, and under Japanese control had a local administration as a political subdivision of Hokkaido separate from the Kuril island local administration, there appears no valid basis, either in the Yalta Agreement or in any other international understanding, justifying Soviet occupation of the Habomai-Shikotan area at the end of the war in addition to the Soviet occupation of the Kuril Islands. It can only be concluded, therefore, that the Soviet occupation of the Habomai Group and Shikotan Island was a unilateral action for which no more previous understanding had been reached than for Soviet occupation of the island of Hokkaido."

https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1949v07p2/d106

Pretty sure Russia's continued military occupation of Japanese territory is the main barrier to a peace treaty.

Moscow withdrew from peace treaty talks with Japan and froze joint economic projects related to the islands in 2022 because of Japanese sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine. Relations have soured further since.

moot now

wolfshineToday  12:44 pm JST

Pretty sure Russia's continued military occupation of Japanese territory is the main barrier to a peace treaty.

Russia is not occupying any Japanese "territory". Who lived on those lands before the Japanese occupied it? National borders shift and change over time. It's a part of life.

The islands became Japanese territory through a negotiated Treaty with Russia in 1855.

"One of the most important features of the 1855 Treaty of Shimoda was the agreement that the Kuril Islands were to be divided between Russia and Japan at a line running in between Etorofu and Urup, "

Kazuaki ShimazakiToday  11:57 am JST

@OssanAmericaToday 10:50 am JST

Utterly false informaion. the taking of the four islands was not "agreed" by anybody. Nobody gave the USSR the right to take them or to transfer control to Russia. The US, UK amd EU consider these 4 islands to be Japanese territory under Russian administration (occupation).

Let's split this into several parts. First, if you are the US or UK, you don't get to say that. The deal at Yalta was pretty easy.

3. The Kurile Islands shall be handed over to the Soviet Union.

The US did not define "the Kuriles" to incklide the 4 southernmost islands as hitorically they were never considered part of them. In fact it was not until the USSR entered the war against Japan that Stalin used the term "Kuriles" to include all the islands down to Hokkaido. This difference in interpretation is fundamental to the opoosing views of the US and Russia.

Second, if you are Japan, you don't get to say that. Because here's what you said at San Franscisco.

(c) Japan renounces all right, title and claim to the Kurile Islands, and to that portion of Sakhalin and the islands adjacent to it over which Japan acquired sovereignty as a consequence of the Treaty of Portsmouth of September 5, 1905.

Again, Japan never identified the 4 islands as part of the Kuriles. Neither did the US.

OK, so you didn't hand them to Russia, but they are definitely not yours anymore, and so you can't care about whoever the next claimant is.

Japan most certainly can and should care that part of their territory is illegally occupied by a nation that did not even attend much less sign the 1951 Treaty. Japan's position is backed by the US, UK and EU.

Japan's failure in this regard is that they became over confident in their economic power as well as believing that Russia was a civilized reasonable country that wanted good relations with all it's neighbors. With civilized countries the proper course would be to bring a claim to the ICJ.

However, Russia, being uncivilized. disregards the ICJ.

"we reiterate that Russia must be held accountable for its actions. In this regard, we consider that Russia's violations of international law engage its international responsibility, and that the losses and damage suffered by Ukraine as a result of Russia's violations of international law require full and urgent reparation by Russia, in accordance 14.10.2022, 15:35 Joint statement on supporting Ukraine's with the law of State responsibility.

ICJ proceedingshttps://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_22_4509 3/3

Putin has told his foreign minister, Lazarov many times that Japan will never get back It’s northern territories. He is exploiting Japanese foreign policy and intends to build more Russian military bases on the illegally seized Lands.

If you want peace, prepare for war and never be the instigator or bully with your military. That method has been proven to provide the most peace for the largest number of people in the world.

Ercan ArisoyApr. 10 06:22 pm JST

Does Us really need all those expensive military bases in 21st century? Donald Trump may come with brand new ideas soon.

Yes he will come with ideas for American surrender to save his own sorry behind from the kompromat the dictators have on him.

YrralToday  10:03 am JST

US gave Russian the Kurils island While Roosevelt, Churchill Stalin were in Yalta 

Incorrect. The US gave Russia the "Kuriles" which did not include the four southernmost islands.

Why else would the US consider them Japanese territory under Russian occupation today?

Yeah, if the US Military isn’t there, then Russia can just take over, that’s your “Treaty”.

Just like Ukraine

JJEToday 07:12 am JST

Northern Territories are an agreed part of the settlement of WWII - many agreements back this up. Tokyo really needs to learn to accept history and learn from the past, not repeat it.

Berlin is not asking for the territories it forfeited.

Just because you abused one country into submission doesn't mean you will always be able to steal your way to glory. Northern Territories recognized by about three fewer agreements than the ones Russia violated when it invaded Ukraine.

Ramsey's KitchenToday 12:58 pm JST

i think that Russian people are good people. I feel sorry for them having poor governments regularly.

I agree . Thats a fair sentiment, ( which also applies to most countries around the world including US and Japan ( being the other two mentioned in this article).

Democracy does exist and Russia and China ain't it.

Raw BeerToday 02:29 pm JST

Russia not returning what it stole impedes it more.

Russia was open to the idea of returning the islands. But they know that if they did so, the US would immediately set up a military base on them. US military presence here ruins everything...

Returning some of the islands. Is Russia also going to demilitarize its islands? And if you can't take Japan's promise in writing then maybe you aren't ready for peace.

JJEToday 03:12 pm JST

The fly is in the ointment. A number of years ago, but not too many, a senior US military officer in the Japan-command publicly confirmed that the Kuril Islands would be covered by the Tokyo-Washington security treaty in the event of a transfer. He obviously put his foot in it and spoke out loud what everyone already suspected.

Yes, all of Japan is covered by the security treaty. What kind of legalistic nonsense does Putin expect that only part of Japan would be covered?

Japan's promise in writing, to "demilitarize the islands", which it has never made by the way, is fraudulent based on the publicly available evidence.

Yes, I was speaking hypothetically, should Russia choose to be civilized and return what it stole. A security guarantee is not military infrastructure.

Tokyo would have to void the treaty, evict all foreign forces from its territory, pledge neutrality and guarantee no militarization of the islands. On all these counts it is in violation and unable to fulfil a reasonable and independent posture. The treaty is a leash-style shackle locked harder than ever, US forces are not packing their bags, foreign policy is satellite-poodle-like and currently a militarization of islands that contradicts neutrality.

Or we can continue waiting for Russia to abandon its horde ways. You are right that the US isn't leaving, though, until all territorial disputes are settled.

Moreover, certain political organizations would demand more territory. That is the historic nature of the ruling class whose forebears lost the islands in the first place and accept no responsibility for doing so.

The responsibility is on Russia for stealing them. If you are saying Japan would demand more than the four islands, I find that unlikely.

Pretending the above issues don't exist, this is the first and basic challenge: to admit Russian sovereignty over them.

No point in doing so. Russia keeps collapsing and might someday value peace over fake pride.

JJEToday  10:01 pm JST

What a whopper! No, they didn't - they took Guam, Saipan and the Mariana Islands, amongst others.

Those weren't Japanese islands to start with, and they were taken by the U.S. during the war.

The USSR took the 4 islands after Japan declared surrender.

No comparison.

Japan didn't surrender to the USSR - there was active resistance after their "surrender". That there means it was during the war.

Either way, Russia is the enemy.

If Russia keeps on this terrorist invasion of Ukraine, when they lose, Japan will have a good opportunity to take back the Kurils in the aftermath.

Let's not forget that Xi gave permission for Putin to invade Ukraine. The invasion started the day after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics finished.

This is a Chinese proxy war. Russia shatters itself by its corrupt military incompetence against a tenacious neighbour, as it did in Afghanistan. China gobbles up cheap Russian carbon fuel and then steps in to dominate the central asian and east asian territories.

Just like NATO, it will cost them zero lives to weaken Russia.

Yes, he can.

Only a Russian could think Putin will ever be trusted by anyone in the world ever.

Even the Russians know he is the enemy, but if they say that out loud they get Navalnyed.

America (and the free world) wasn't prepared in the past so the people of North Korea, Vietnam, Iran are all paying the price. Germany paid the price too.

Venezuela and Nicaragua are paying their price now. There are other places too, like Burma.

The US knows it needs help from the free world to confront evil and dictators. Don't let little, relatively minor, disagreements get in the way of preventing dictators to expand their places in the world.

The free world needs forward staging bases and regional military to practice together. Evil must be confronted when they act especially evil.

JJEToday  07:12 am JST

Northern Territories are an agreed part of the settlement of WWII - many agreements back this up. Tokyo really needs to learn to accept history and learn from the past, not repeat it.

Utterly false informaion. the taking of the four islands was not "agreed" by anybody. Nobody gave the USSR the right to take them or to transfer control to Russia. The US, UK amd EU consider these 4 islands to be Japanese territory under Russian administration (occupation).

The country that has not learned a lesson from WWII is Russia. Or perhaps it has, that invading neighbors is a good thing.

I say write the damn islands off for now. The USSR didn't last forever, or even a century. This current young 'Russian Federation' will be lucky to have that longevity.

wolfshineToday 12:44 pm JST

Pretty sure Russia's continued military occupation of Japanese territory is the main barrier to a peace treaty.

Russia is not occupying any Japanese "territory". Who lived on those lands before the Japanese occupied it? National borders shift and change over time. It's a part of life.

Yeah and we can shift some of those Russian borders back east this year if we put some effort into it.

Kazuaki Shimazaki Today 04:08 pm JST

@OssanAmericaToday 01:49 pm JST

I've deliberately limited the length of my prior response, but redefinition is among the lowest of tactics - you can devalue any agreement by redefining words, be it the word Autonomy in SBJD or the word Kuriles in Yalta, or for that matter Russia can get out of Ukraine by saying they meant a smaller Ukraine, and the areas now being occupied is "Malorussia", which at least sounds better than insisting South 千島列島 is not 千島列島.

Yalta remains an imposed agreement on Japan, making its wording pretty pointless w.r.t. the basic decency of the actions of the victors or lack thereof. And nothing is more ridiculous than invading a sovereign country with three agreements backing up its 1991 borders.

A peace treaty between Russia and Japan? Is this a belated April Fool's Day joke on the part of Putin?

Can Putin really be trusted to honor a peace treaty?

Beijing is focused on Taiwan and the South China Sea. Russia and China have developed a strong partnership courtesy of the Biden administration.

Haha! You are being played. Your fabulous Ukraine Special Military Operation is weakening Russia and strengthening China. They are stepping in and dominating Central and Eastern Asia at your expense. And you can't stop them in the way that you couldn't stop a few non-ethnic Russians terrorising Moscow.

You think Biden is your enemy? He isn't. It's China, it's Xi.

You are being played by two superpowers, and you aren't one anymore.

Unsurprising since Russia was then, and still is, an Axis power than has never atoned for nor repented for its many war crimes and atrocities it committed in WWII. Naturally, the Axis power of Russia still considers itself to be in a state of war with both Japan (Russia waited until August 8, 1945 to finally leave the Axis Tripartite treaty less than a month prior to Japan's surrender due to US and British action. Russia waiting till the last minute for easy land grabs. For example, the current Korean Question of hositlities between North and South is because Russia demanded half of the Korean Peninsula despite the fact not a single Russia soldier died defending the Korean peoples. It was an outrage then, it's still an outrage now. Whether the name is Stalin or Putin the results are the same, betrayal and oppression.

JJEApr. 9  10:09 pm JST

Japan didn't surrender to the USSR - there was active resistance after their "surrender". That there means it was during the war.

The "resistance" was a response to being shot at. Japan formally declared surrender on August 15, 1945.

The USSR commenced invasion of the Kuriles on August 18, 1945.

They had been shipping weapons to the Soviet Fareast by train in preparation for an invasion of Japan. Part of the same land grab they pulled in Europe subjugating countries which they "liberated" for over 40 years.

Sarunghakan FengToday 12:28 am JST

The US makes its own enemies.

Well, yes, there are a lot of Russians and Chinese that just can't stand their political systems are morally and intellectually bankrupt and so have to try to upstage the superpower at every opportunity.

Even if Russia was gone, China was gone, the racial and political divide would've been really awry.

You have to have a multiracial country to complain about racism in a multiracial country. Not really relevant when it comes to foreign policy.

The West loves to portray itself as the saviours of the world, but the reality is that it's making more enemies by forcing their systems onto others, just as other systems are forced onto China, onto Russia, etc. Russia isn't the problem, the problem is the West, AUSUK just not actually, actively looking to peacefully settle relations. Yes, it goes both ways, but it's not always the "Oh, foreign guy, bad man". Sometimes, there's no solution because both refuse to budge. Especially for the side calling itself the "right" one.

So you are saying if only there was less woke in Hollywood, Russia wouldn't have invaded Ukraine and would have returned the four islands to Japan?

The Governments of Russia/China/North Korea are politically joined at the hip/s

They are varying degrees of dictatorship/crazy cousins.

However these despots surround Japan.

First and foremost start from tis point.

Japan needs a deterrent, a means to protect its people and regional interests.

JJEToday  08:57 pm JST

America confiscated islands from Japan too. Russia deserved its slice of the pie.

America has returned all islands to Japan by 1972.

Russia also took from he Qing Dynasty Amur Oblast and Primorsky Krai through unfair treaties.

Presume you have no complaints about that.

At the end of WW II, USSR asked to occupy half of Japan, the way they occupied half of Korea. The US said no. Russia wants to occupy Japan, not be friends with it.

If Russia keeps on this terrorist invasion of Ukraine, when they lose, Japan will have a good opportunity to take back the Kurils in the aftermath.

Losing the Kurils will be the least of their worries. China will have eyes on Outer Manchuria. Historically part of China that was, unsurprisingly, twokked by the Soviets. Mineral rich, and more importantly, water rich. Beijing has water problems.

Putin may be sacrificing his arm for his fingers.

Clearly this article is based on Dmitry Peskov answering questions from journalists, as opposed to some unilateral move by the Kremlin - the article says so.

The Kremlin is in no shape to make any other 'unilateral move', It can't even finish a three day 'unilateral move' against an unprepared minor neighbour.

As an honorary useful foreign Vatnik (Putin fanclub badge in the post, may take some time), when does this pathetic invasion end?

quercetumApr. 9 11:43 am JST

This is like that time Russia said to Ukraine give up your nukes, we won't invade, you can trust us. Japan should can look to Ukraine and see that trusting Russia is like Trusting Trump - figure out how much you're ready to lose, because you're going to lose it.

In April 2023, former US president Bill Clinton expressed regret at pressuring Ukraine to give up nuclear weapons, in light of the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine and escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War from 2022. Ukrainians were unable to foresee the impact of denuclearizing. North Korea says not us.

Yeah and no mention from you about your dog Russia's role in why this was such a tragedy.

The US, UK amd EU consider these 4 islands to be Japanese territory under Russian administration (occupation).

The US, UK and the EU is doing nothing to help Japan occupied by Russia. Watching Russia occupy Japan and not lifting a finger is just as evil. You can help and you have the means to help but you do not help.

No, letting your dog run rampant is more evil. The US should not have to police your dog for you.

Russia thinking please leave US so we Russia can take over Japan!!!

"Russia's military presence in Japan's northern islands impedes any peace treaty with Tokyo"

Funny headline. Russia is irrelevant in Japan. Japanese need to get over the islands they lost even though Russians poorly didn’t win and still took them. Russia should have thanked the US. The islands are gone. Japan needs to give them up and move on. Russia should be ignored and tariffed to the sky. Japan doesn’t really need any contact with them.

Much of the commentary on this subject is influenced by either state propaganda or emotional sentiments. Let's put aside all of the Cold War logic or simplistic "Putin Bad" hulk-like mantra and just cut to the gist of it.

Japan clobbered the Russians in 1905, long before Communism or Putin. Russia lost influence in East Asia to Japan as a result of this affair (notably Manchuria and Korea) and has held a bitter grudge ever since.

Later on in return, the Soviets battered a weakened Imperial Japan, effectively ending their influence over their former colonial holdings. Also, the Russians took control of Sakhalin, or Karafuto, something I think the Japanese view as a serious blow to their own manifest destiny and is thus a huge chip on their shoulder.

I don't think there are really any good guys or bad guys in this relationship. Both societies desired territorial expansion and want to protect their economic interests. So it makes sense that these two countries don't like each other, and I think both peoples are somewhat justified in their distrust of the other. Will likely not change anytime soon.

America and the free world? What a joke. It's a world ruled by certain Oligarchs, that's what it is, and the rest want to actually have the world ruled by these Oligarchs. The Western ones. Now, we have individuals brainwashed to basically force other individuals to believe that whatever else, whoever else is "evil". The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

The cost of all the US oversea bases is only $25 billion and that much would not be saved by closing them.

wallace, your statement means the only thing that all US oversea bases are .... salvage yards. Are they?

Yeah and we can shift some of those Russian borders back east this year if we put some effort into it.

Who's "we" exactly?

The formula for peace is this: Japan does not want to give up American political influence, and Russia does not want the deployment of American military bases on the Kuril Islands. The circle is closed, everyone is free. No more questions.

The US makes its own enemies. Even if Russia was gone, China was gone, the racial and political divide would've been really awry. The West loves to portray itself as the saviours of the world, but the reality is that it's making more enemies by forcing their systems onto others, just as other systems are forced onto China, onto Russia, etc. Russia isn't the problem, the problem is the West, AUSUK just not actually, actively looking to peacefully settle relations. Yes, it goes both ways, but it's not always the "Oh, foreign guy, bad man". Sometimes, there's no solution because both refuse to budge. Especially for the side calling itself the "right" one.

theFuApr. 10  11:46 pm JST

America (and the free world) wasn't prepared in the past so the people of North Korea, Vietnam, Iran are all paying the price. Germany paid the price too.

Venezuela and Nicaragua are paying their price now. There are other places too, like Burma.

The US knows it needs help from the free world to confront evil and dictators. Don't let little, relatively minor, disagreements get in the way of preventing dictators to expand their places in the world.

oh what a fool))

@OssanAmericaToday 10:50 am JST

Utterly false informaion. the taking of the four islands was not "agreed" by anybody. Nobody gave the USSR the right to take them or to transfer control to Russia. The US, UK amd EU consider these 4 islands to be Japanese territory under Russian administration (occupation).

Let's split this into several parts. First, if you are the US or UK, you don't get to say that. The deal at Yalta was pretty easy.

3. The Kurile Islands shall be handed over to the Soviet Union.

It's really hard to get away from wording like this. And the Russians had to expend first - by attacking Japan with real troops. This is basically the UK and US slamming the door after the expenditure had been made - treachery. And don't say the UK and US didn't understand what had to be done. The Cairo Declaration talks about returning land seized by "greed", while Potsdam turns it into a free discretion for the Allies to take land outside of the four main islands - the influence of Yalta is very clear.

At most the US can plead reprisal by citing Poland. However, first, the two pieces are not equal. All the US had to do was take islands from a twitching (from all the bombs) Japan, while the Russians are being asked to risk treachery from Poland. Second, at the end of the day, Poland got its free elections (and they promptly backstabbed the Russians by joining NATO) - the US position did not update to reflect this.

Second, if you are Japan, you don't get to say that. Because here's what you said at San Franscisco.

(c) Japan renounces all right, title and claim to the Kurile Islands, and to that portion of Sakhalin and the islands adjacent to it over which Japan acquired sovereignty as a consequence of the Treaty of Portsmouth of September 5, 1905.

OK, so you didn't hand them to Russia, but they are definitely not yours anymore, and so you can't care about whoever the next claimant is.

Russia not returning what it stole impedes it more.

Russia was open to the idea of returning the islands. But they know that if they did so, the US would immediately set up a military base on them. US military presence here ruins everything...

America confiscated islands from Japan too. Russia deserved its slice of the pie.

Pretty sure Russia's continued military occupation of Japanese territory is the main barrier to a peace treaty.

Russia is not occupying any Japanese "territory". Who lived on those lands before the Japanese occupied it? National borders shift and change over time. It's a part of life.

Appears the best Tokyo can hope for is participation in joint-economic projects, fishing quotas and facilitated visits for authorised persons.

Prerequisite will be dropping sanctions at a bare minimum it seems and other necessary measures to get themselves off the unfriendly countries list. This is the first hurdle.

Does Us really need all those expensive military bases in 21st century? Donald Trump may come with brand new ideas soon.

@OssanAmericaToday 01:49 pm JST

I've deliberately limited the length of my prior response, but redefinition is among the lowest of tactics - you can devalue any agreement by redefining words, be it the word Autonomy in SBJD or the word Kuriles in Yalta, or for that matter Russia can get out of Ukraine by saying they meant a smaller Ukraine, and the areas now being occupied is "Malorussia", which at least sounds better than insisting South 千島列島 is not 千島列島.

I'd say it's a path best not traveled. Further, where one side has to make irrevocable expenditures before the other in a contractual situation, it's only fair to give the side that went first more weight in interpreting the second side's obligations then the second side that has already benefitted and is now has no disincentive against trying to get out of its commitments.

With civilized countries the proper course would be to bring a claim to the ICJ.

It would seem said words best apply to Japan, not Russia, in the case of the Kuriles.

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_22_4509

That statement is not by the ICJ, but by the European Parliament. The fact they historically cannot be fair even on this issue, but had to take a Russophobic stance seriously dents the credibility of any finding they make regarding anything involving Russia.

Wrong yet again. That was in the second half of the 19th century, well before the first Bolsheviks had even been born.

The Soviet Manchuria operation did not take one square inch of land from China (or Mongolia or Korea). Keep in mind they smashed the might of Imperial Japan once and for all and ejected them from "Manchuko" and other areas, clearing the way for Chinese sovereignty over Japanese invaded lands. All USSR forces withdrew in 1946, much to acclaim of ordinary Chinese people applauding them. People remember this.

Beijing is focused on Taiwan and the South China Sea. Russia and China have developed a strong partnership courtesy of the Biden administration.

Important not to forget Yalta and Potsdam. Widespread agreement reached and deals sealed that paved the way for the de-imperialization of the Kuril Islands. Basic historic fact.

Let me try to comprehend the twist of Russian logic: So in the vaning days of WW2 after the US had utterly destroyed Japan, uncle Stalin decides to BREAK the non-aggression treaty with Tojo by attacking Japan --and in this clever Soviet strategy creating the monstrosity claled the DPRK resulting in the eventual death of millions of Koreans as well as steaingl Japanese islands.

The counter to that narrative was that the US gave the USSR landing ships and landing craft and trained their Army and Navy how to use them in Alaska for the specific purpose of the USSR taking the Kuriles from Japan. It was only after the Soviets blockade of Berlin and the Korean War that the US backtracked and started to claim the four southern most of the Kurile Islands were not ceded to the USSR. The treaty language is pretty clear that the Kurlies were to be ceded to the USSR.

The fly is in the ointment. A number of years ago, but not too many, a senior US military officer in the Japan-command publicly confirmed that the Kuril Islands would be covered by the Tokyo-Washington security treaty in the event of a transfer. He obviously put his foot in it and spoke out loud what everyone already suspected.

Japan's promise in writing, to "demilitarize the islands", which it has never made by the way, is fraudulent based on the publicly available evidence.

Tokyo would have to void the treaty, evict all foreign forces from its territory, pledge neutrality and guarantee no militarization of the islands. On all these counts it is in violation and unable to fulfil a reasonable and independent posture. The treaty is a leash-style shackle locked harder than ever, US forces are not packing their bags, foreign policy is satellite-poodle-like and currently a militarization of islands that contradicts neutrality.

Moreover, certain political organizations would demand more territory. That is the historic nature of the ruling class whose forebears lost the islands in the first place and accept no responsibility for doing so.

Pretending the above issues don't exist, this is the first and basic challenge: to admit Russian sovereignty over them.

Japan didn't surrender to the USSR - there was active resistance after their "surrender". That there means it was during the war.

Yes, he can.

Clearly this article is based on Dmitry Peskov answering questions from journalists, as opposed to some unilateral move by the Kremlin - the article says so.

all clear.forget abt Kurils return

I can only repeat the the short phrase! Forget!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_the_Kuril_Islands

On 23 August, the 20,000-strong Japanese garrisons on the islands were ordered to surrender as part of the general surrender of Japan. However, some of the garrison forces ignored this order and continued to resist Soviet occupation.

Sounds like they didn't surrender and a state of war.

The US, UK amd EU consider these 4 islands to be Japanese territory under Russian administration (occupation).

US, UK EU, you say? Who are they? Or what they are? US and UK - the countries that joined the fight against the strongest army in the world in Europe - Germany - only when they realized that the USSR could win without them? They realized that they would get nothing when dividing Europe to begin. Which of the European countries besides the USSR did something to defeat Germany? Maybe France? EU considers!!! :))) Don't make your sneakers laugh!!!

This is like that time Russia said to Ukraine give up your nukes, we won't invade, you can trust us. Japan should can look to Ukraine and see that trusting Russia is like Trusting Trump - figure out how much you're ready to lose, because you're going to lose it.

In April 2023, former US president Bill Clinton expressed regret at pressuring Ukraine to give up nuclear weapons, in light of the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine and escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War from 2022. Ukrainians were unable to foresee the impact of denuclearizing. North Korea says not us.

The US, UK amd EU consider these 4 islands to be Japanese territory under Russian administration (occupation).

The US, UK and the EU is doing nothing to help Japan occupied by Russia. Watching Russia occupy Japan and not lifting a finger is just as evil. You can help and you have the means to help but you do not help.

US gave Russian the Kurils island While Roosevelt, Churchill Stalin were in Yalta Crimes as reward for waging war against Japan

Sure the Russians made mistakes in the past, but that's why pencils have erasers!

Japan democracy is nothing like the US , a friend in need ,is a friend indeed,the LDP could not get elected dog catcher in the US,I am.not Anti Japanese,I am anti ignorance,I do not tolerate ignorance from an American,an especially from a foreigner

Japan will always be at the mercy of the US, because Japan has not showed it cannot stand on it own politically or military, Russian has invaded Japan,why has Japan not evicted it from the Kurils

Northern Territories are an agreed part of the settlement of WWII - many agreements back this up. Tokyo really needs to learn to accept history and learn from the past, not repeat it.

Berlin is not asking for the territories it forfeited.

The US need handle it own business,or will politically implode within, Russian are gnat ,that the US is swatting at constantly,when it been bitten by a deadly mosquitos within, foreigner need a dose of reality,the average American do not care about your survival,and you should make peace with Russia on their terms