Between Tokyo and Moscow

the long version

Tension and mutual suspicion have marked the relationship between Russia and Japan since official contacts were established in the mid-nineteenth century. Similar perceptions predominate today in spite of the overthrow of Communism in Russia and the end of the Cold War. Indeed resurgent Russian nationalism makes an accommodation with Japan less likely over issues such as the status of the Kurile islands, which the Soviet Union seized at the end of Second World War and which are regarded by the Russian military as non-negotiable. Japan demands that the Kuriles must be returned before full relations are established and Japanese aid and investment can start to flow. Russia, however, fears the strategic threat posed by Japan and the huge economic power at its disposal.