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Russian–Japanese Relations at the Turn of the Century: Patterns, Routes, Leaders

https://doi.org/10.46272/2587-8476-2021-12-2-107-129

Abstract

This article analyzes why, during the post-Cold War period, Tokyo became aware of the need to reconsider its hard-line relations with Moscow, which had been developed in previous decades. Even in the period preceding the collapse of the USSR, Tokyo did not conceal its intentions to use the difficult socio-economic situation in the USSR and then in Russia to obtain territorial concessions. Even then, however, the Russian side mostly determined the agenda of the Russian-Japanese dialogue, which was largely due to serious mistakes made by Japanese politicians. After Russia emerged from the economic and political turbulence that began unexpectedly for the West and Japan in the 2000s, Tokyo’s new hopes were connected with concessions on the “territorial case” because of Russia’s interest in Japanese investments and technological cooperation, especially for the development of the Far East and adjacent areas. Nevertheless, even here Tokyo faced a fiasco. Before the arrival of the Abe era in late 2012, Japan’s foreign policy toward Russia became increasingly “reactive,” and even later Tokyo’s high-profile initiatives related to the Russian-Japanese agenda often turned out to be old proposals from Moscow that had been made during the time of Michael Gorbachev, and favorable moments for their implementation were largely missed.

About the Author

O. G. Paramonov
MGIMO University
Russian Federation

Oleg G. Paramonov, PhD (History), Senior Research Fellow, Center for East Asian and Shanghai Cooperation Organization Studies, Institute for International Studies, Moscow State Institute of International Relations

76, Prospect Vernadskogo, Moscow, 119454


Competing Interests:

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.



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For citations:


Paramonov O.G. Russian–Japanese Relations at the Turn of the Century: Patterns, Routes, Leaders. Journal of International Analytics. 2021;12(2):107-129. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.46272/2587-8476-2021-12-2-107-129

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ISSN 2587-8476 (Print)
ISSN 2541-9633 (Online)