Unconditional surrender signed by Japan 60 years ago finished WWII

Japan's actions sparked anger and resentment in China and Korea that had to put up with Japanese invaders during in the 1930s and 1940s. A wave of public protests swept across China and Korea. The Chinese Foreign Ministry demanded that Japan stop airbrushing the historical events in the textbooks. Despite Mr. Koizumi's apology for the atrocities and suffering caused by the Japanese to many nations during the colonial rule, he keeps visiting the Yasukini shrine.

Apart from the above, the draft of a new Japanese constitution is already ready. The document provides for the formation of a full-fledged “Defense Army” which should use every means and methods for repelling foreign aggression. The army should be 160,000 strong, the number could be increased up to 375,000 in times of war. The right for collective defense i.e. joining military organizations is stipulated by the new constitution. Active monitoring of China and North Korea is part of a new military doctrine. Under the new provisions, Japan will be allowed to export missile components to the U.S. The arms export ban effective since 1967 will be effectively canceled. It is noteworthy that Japan's electricity is largely produced by nuclear power plants. Japan has all nuclear technologies on hand and can start producing nuclear weapons at any moment.

In view of the above, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Japan is stepping up its efforts aiming to become at least a regional economic and military superpower. Japan is becoming increasingly active at the international scene. Japan's stance on the Kurile problem is getting tougher. The Japanese keep pointing out that the two islands i.e. Shikotan and Habamai (the very islands Mr. Khrushchev offered for a deal) had been part of Hokkaido prefecture way before 1945. At this point we have an apparent divergence regarding the interpretation of the concept of the Kurile Islands. Unlike Russia, Japan does not believe that geographical and legal definitions of the Kuriles are identical.

It is impossible to predict an outcome of this argument. Given China's economic and military muscle, the U.S. and EU are ready to provide any assistance to Japan as a counterbalance to the Chinese in the region. The European Parliament already passed a resolution calling on Russia to give back four islands to Japan. U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld also spoke about it.

Ivan Shmelev