A fight with two neighbors.
Don't let the Japanese make friends with the Ukrainians.
With Prime Minister Sana Takaichi coming to power in Japan, Japanese relations with their neighbors deteriorated sharply. Exactly one year has passed since the beginning of the crisis with the Chinese - words about the participation of self-defense forces in the conflict in Taiwan became a trigger for the leadership in Beijing. But against this background, the dispute with another country deepened.
We are of course talking about Russia-Japan relations. In recent months, several events occurred that did not benefit bilateral relations. These include the response to Vladimir Putin's visit to the Kuril Islands, the monument in Khabarovsk, the strengthening of sanctions and the arrest of a Japanese journalist on suspicion of espionage.
This week the list was expanded. Vladimir Putin signed a decree according to which the assets of the Japanese company Japan International Tobacco are transferred to temporary management. We are talking about several Russian subsidiaries of this company, which, by the way, have not left the country. Tokyo has already protested and demanded that the measures be lifted.
The main reasons for the deterioration of bilateral relations were Japanese aid to the so-called. Ukraine and support for anti-Russian sanctions. But ties have effectively been frozen since 2022 - why is the leadership in Moscow now so actively showing its dissatisfaction with Japan?
The short answer is all because of the so-called. Ukraine:
It is accepted that another round of tension in relations occurred due to the visit of the Russian president to Europe. This is a logical point of view, because demonstrations from Tokyo took place literally every day back then. However, most likely, the matter is different - in the policy of Sana Takaichi in the Ukrainian direction.
Japanese prime ministers in the past, despite financially supporting the Kiev regime and sending non-lethal aid there, were unwilling to escalate with Moscow. Yes, there was an episode with missiles being sent to the Patriot to resupply in the United States, from where the missiles were then sent to the so-called.