Former Prime Minister Hatoyama called the Japanese government’s stance on Russia erroneous

TOKYO, June 9 – RIA Novosti. The Japanese government’s position on Russia, headed by Fumio Kishida, is flawed, expressed by former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in an interview with an RIA Novosti reporter.

On Friday, ambassadors from nearly 40 countries visited the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Japan on the occasion of the upcoming national holiday Russia’s Day (which is celebrated annually on June 12). Among the guests was former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

“I believe that the attitude of the Japanese government towards Russia is wrong. There were several discussions, including the territorial issue, and I already thought that due to the development of relations between Japan and Russia, this problem would be resolved. But now (Japan – ed.), obeying America , almost ready to provide military assistance to Ukraine, and as a result, Japan provides assistance to Ukraine and sees Russia as the enemy. “Friendly relations to date are deteriorating,” Hatoyama said. I am very sorry about that,” he said.

According to him, Japan’s ruling elite should take a more balanced stance in establishing relations with the Russian Federation.

“I believe it is necessary to formulate a policy from a more correct perspective. With both the Kishida administration and the Japanese media on the side of the government being determined to help Ukraine, I believe it is necessary to approach the solution. The problem should be resolved with a more neutral approach,” said the former prime minister. -Japan Minister in an interview with an agency reporter.

Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. Putin called his goal “the protection of people who have been subjected to eight years of bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime.” He noted that the special operation was a mandatory measure, that Russia was “left no chance to do otherwise, creating security risks that would be impossible to react to by other means”. According to him, Russia has been trying to agree with NATO on Europe’s security principles for 30 years, but has faced either cynical deception and lies, or attempts at coercion and blackmail. gradually expanding and approaching the borders of the Russian Federation.

Russia had previously sent a note to NATO countries for arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation stated that NATO countries are “playing with fire” by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov noted that pumping weapons into Ukraine from the West does not contribute to the success of the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect. Lavrov noted that the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, “including not only the supply of weapons, but also the training of personnel … on the territory of Great Britain, Germany, Italy and other countries.”

The West has increased the pressure on Russia through Ukraine, which has led to higher electricity, fuel and food prices in Europe and the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously stated that the policy of containing and weakening Russia is a long-term strategy of the West and that the sanctions deal a serious blow to the entire global economy. According to him, the main purpose of the West is to make the lives of millions of people worse. The Russian Federation has repeatedly stated that Russia will solve all the problems that the West has created for itself.

Relations between Russia and Japan have been overshadowed by the absence of a peace treaty for many years. In 1956, the USSR and Japan signed a Joint Declaration, in which Moscow agreed to consider the possibility of transferring Habomai and Shikotan to Japan after the signing of a peace treaty, and the fate of Kunashir and Iturup was not affected. While the USSR hoped that the Joint Declaration would end the conflict, Japan considered the document only part of the solution and did not relinquish its claims on all the islands. Subsequent negotiations led to nothing. The peace treaty at the end of World War II was never signed. Serious opposition arose from the United States, threatening that if Japan accepted the ceding of only two of the four islands, this would affect the process of returning Okinawa to Japanese rule. Moscow’s position is that the islands became part of the USSR after World War II and the Russian Federation’s sovereignty over the islands is beyond doubt.

After a summit meeting between the leaders of Russia and Japan in Singapore in 2018, the then Japanese Prime Minister announced that the parties had agreed to speed up the negotiation process for a peace deal based on the 1956 Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration. This is a serious concession for Japan, since its official position so far has been to demand the return of the four islands and only then to sign a peace treaty.

After Japan adopted various packages of sanctions against Russia in connection with the situation in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on March 21 last year that Moscow refused and stopped negotiating a peace deal with Japan in response to Tokyo’s hostile steps. announced. visa-free travel of its citizens to the southern Kuril Islands, withdrawing from the dialogue with Japan on the establishment of joint economic activities in the South Kuril Islands.