JAPAN, RELATIONS WITH

Historically, Russo-Japanese relations have been plagued by territorial conflicts, beginning with the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. Russia’s defeat resulted in the virtual destruction of the country’s naval fleet, an internal revolution, and the loss of the southern half of Sakhalin Island. Japan later intervened in the Russian Civil War (1918–1921) in an attempt to crush theBolsheviksand exert control over theRussian Far East. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) maintained neutrality toward the island nation during most of the Pacific War (1937–1945), only declaring war on Japan on 9 August 1945. With Japan’s surrender less than a week later, the Soviets became an occupying force in its former imperial domains, including Manchuria and northern Korea. The Soviet Union annexed southern Sakhalin and theKuril Islandchain (including the four southernmost islands known as the Northern Territories in Japan), affixing them to theSakhalin Oblastof theRussian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. As theCold Warset in, the status of the southern Kurils became a point of friction between the Kremlin and theUnited States, with the latter backing Japan’s position that the Northern Territories were not part of the Kurils and thus not the legal property of the Soviet Union. In 1956, Moscow and Tokyo, in an effort to normalize relations, agreed on the transfer of the Habomai and the Shikotan islands to Japan once a permanent peace treaty was signed between the two countries; however, such a treaty has yet to be finalized primarily due to Japanese demand for the return of four rather than two islands.During the 1990s,Boris Yeltsinregularly stated his intention to end the territorial dispute and sign a peace treaty, but to no avail. Relations between an independent Russian Federation and Japan developed rapidly under Yeltsin; however, the economic imbalance between the nations was characterized by Japanese dominance. Under the leadership ofVladimir Putin, Russia’s economic turnaround allowed the country to restructure its previously subservient relationship with Japan; these new realities were reflected in January 2003 when Putin and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi signed the RussoJapanese Action Plan to improve bilateral ties.

Trade between the two countries is growing rapidly (between 20–30 percent per year), standing at over $13 billion in 2006. Trade is expected to increase after the estimated 2012 completion of the Taishet-Nakhodka pipeline (currently,oilshipments are sent via rail from Skovorodino to the Pacific port of Nakhodka). In 2003, Koizumi pledged loans of $14 billion to finance the pipeline and additional economic support for projects in the Russian Far East to help secure the route, which bypassesChina. New initiatives between the two countries also include the development of an energy bridge (electricity andnatural gas) linking Sakhalin and Hokkaido. A number of large Japanese firms, including Toyota, have invested in the Russian Federation in recent years.

Cooperation in the high-tech field is also improving, with Russian software makers partnering with Japanese computer manufacturers. A high-level visit in 2007 to Japan by Prime MinisterMikhail Fradkovand 200 business leaders deepened economic linkages. In terms of international diplomacy, joint membership in the six-party talks onNorthKorea’s nuclear program has stimulated increased bilateral cooperation on security in northeast Asia. Cooperation on transnationalcrimefighting is also substantial, as both governments seek to stifle alliances between the Russianmafiaand Japaneseyakuza.

See alsoForeign investment; Foreign trade.