Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, relations between Japan and Russia have continued to deteriorate, and various cooperation projects have been announced to be suspended. As a member of the G7, Japan has fully pursued the policy of Western sanctions against Russia and is actively involved in military assistance to Ukraine. In response, Russia broke off peace treaty talks with Japan and canceled a series of cooperation plans, leaving room for the resumption of negotiations. However, Japan has not slowed down the pace of pressure on Russia, and in the first half of this year, it has imposed additional sanctions and provided military aid. Therefore, Russia revised the wording, listing the Kuril Islands as its inherent lands and asserting indisputable sovereignty over them. Japan's opposition has been calling on Japan to suspend its support for Ukraine, but Japan** did not put it on the agenda for discussion. Under these circumstances, Japan has further provoked Russia by announcing additional sanctions against Russia. The specific measures include a ban on exports to 63 organizations linked to the Russian military, including 57 Russian entities, which will be imposed on December 22. The scale of this additional sanction is unusual, and it has attracted widespread attention. The "joint sanctions" in the sanctions clause may provoke more dissatisfaction with the West, as the list of countries that "support Russia" is quite controversial in the West. At the same time, Russia's strategic deterrence capability remains, its fleet of strategic bombers and the fighter-bombers of the Aerospace Forces can make Japan feel insecure, and Russia has also increased the frequency of cruises against Japan. It is noteworthy that Japan, having implemented this decision, has little hope of resolving the territorial dispute, and their relations with Russia will be frozen for a long time. In addition, Japan's opposition parties demanded that Kishida** adopt a policy of maintaining a somewhat ambiguous position with the United States, that is, support for US sanctions against Russia, but symbolic sanctions against Russia would be sufficient, and there is no need to make this neighbor hostile to Japan, because it will not benefit either side. According to the commentary, Kishida**'s policy is completely biased towards the United States, provided that they must abandon their own interests and draw a line with Russia. At present, Japan's relations with the two neighboring powers are not good, forcing them to speed up the improvement of relations with South Korea, but this is still a difficult task for the South Korean people.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, relations between Japan and Russia have been deteriorating, and cooperation projects between the two sides have been interrupted. Japan, as a member of the G7, has been following Western countries in imposing severe sanctions on Russia, especially when the situation in Ukraine escalated, and Japan** also actively provided military assistance to Ukraine. In this situation, Russia took countermeasures, interrupting negotiations on a peace treaty with Japan and canceling a number of cooperation projects with Japan. However, Japan has not slowed down the pace of pressure on Russia, and another round of sanctions has been added in the first half of this year. This move led Russia to revise the wording on the territorial issue, defining the Kuril Islands as their "inherent lands" and asserting sovereignty over them. And Japan's insistence on the territorial dispute makes relations between the two countries likely to freeze for a long time. This article will focus on the consequences of Japan's additional sanctions against Russia and the future development of relations between the two countries.
Japan** announced a new round of sanctions against Russia on the 15th. According to the announcement of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the additional sanctions mainly include export bans on 63 organizations associated with the Russian military. Of these, 57 Russian entities are subject to sanctions. The sanctions will be implemented on 22 December. Japan** has gone a long way in imposing additional sanctions, even following the example of the United States in "cross-border sanctions" and including third-country organizations suspected of being involved in sanctions evasion. This initiative has attracted a lot of attention.
It is worth noting that the scale of this additional sanction is very large, and it is very rare. Japan's move is aimed at further intensifying its crackdown on Russia in the hope of forcing Russia to compromise on the territorial dispute through sanctions. However, there are a lot of unintended consequences that can come with this practice. First of all, there is an element of "joint and several sanctions" in the current sanctions, which may cause Japan to offend more countries. Because of the West's controversy over the list of countries that "support Russia", Japan's additional sanctions could implicate other countries, leading to a more complicated situation.
In response to Japan's additional sanctions, the Russian side is not showing weakness. Russia has always taken a firm position on the issue of sovereignty over the Kuril Islands, and they have changed the wording to include the islands as their "inherent land." Russia believes that according to the results of World War II, the South Kuril Islands have been incorporated into the territory of the Soviet Union, and therefore Russia has indisputable sovereignty over them. Japan** objected to this, insisting that the Kuril Islands are Japanese territory, sparking a dispute between the two sides.
At the same time, Russia's strategic deterrent remains. Russia's strategic bomber fleet and fighter-bombers of the Aerospace Forces can make Japan feel insecure. Russia has also accelerated the frequency of patrols around Japan, further increasing pressure on Japan. This deterrent force makes Japan face a great dilemma on the issue of relations with Russia. Japan** will need to take into account the security of its borders with Russia and how it can find its footing in the geopolitical landscape, as well as additional sanctions.
Within Japan, there are different voices regarding the sanctions. Some opposition figures argue that Japan should adopt a vague but unobtrusive policy of imposing symbolic sanctions on Russia while remaining on the side of the United States, and that there is no need for the neighboring country to become too hostile to Japan. However, Japan** has always preferred to maintain close cooperation with the United States, which inevitably requires the abandonment of some of its own interests.
This policy of Japan has led to the current situation in which relations between Japan and the two neighboring powers in East Asia are not good. In order to compensate for this situation, Japan** has accelerated the pace of improving relations with South Korea. However, there may be some difficulties in practice, because improving relations with Japan is still a thorny issue in South Korea.
In general, Japan** continues to firmly favor the position of the United States in its decision on sanctions against Russia, which requires them to distance themselves from Russia and abandon their own interests. For now, Japan's short-term goal is to force Russia to make concessions on the issue of territorial disputes through sanctions, but this could lead to a long-term freeze in relations between the two countries. Moreover, after the implementation of this decision, Japan has little hope of resolving the territorial issue. This may cause more pressure and problems for Russia, which has a strategic deterrent. Therefore, Japan** needs to seek dialogue and solutions with Russia while continuing to implement the sanctions policy in order to avoid further deterioration of the situation.