It is generally accepted that a Japanese who has not fulfilled his promise should make himself hara-kiri – in any case, this is considered to be outside the Land of the Rising Sun. For example, we have.
However, as experts say, in fact, in Japan, not only and not so much accomplishment is valued, but honest work and a noble path to the goal. In other words, Shinzo Abe was respected in his homeland, although he could not fulfill his obligations. He had no reason to do hara-kiri. However, there was still a person who thought that the politician was not worthy of life. The Sovershenno Sekretno newspaper conducted its own investigation to find out whether the murder of Shinzo Abe was connected with his public promise to return Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai to their homeland. The decision to announce increased (and, frankly, impossible) obligations at the grave of his father was not at all accidental, although it smacked of primitive drama in the spirit of Bollywood.
Shinzo Abe’s father, Shintaro Abe, headed the Japanese Foreign Ministry in 1982-1986 and was one of the ideologists of the “thaw” in relations with the great neighbor – the USSR, including for the sake of returning the Kuril Islands. With his theatrical, clearly intended for the public gesture, Shinzo Abe emphasized the continuity of family values, which is highly valued in Japan.
ON MERITS AND FAILURE
He headed the government for almost nine years: first in 2006-2007, then the second happened, a longer “accession to the throne” in 2012-2020. Shinzo Abe was remembered by the Japanese not only because of his super-idea, doomed from the outset, but also because of the reforms. It was under him that Japan had an army, which is expressly prohibited by the Constitution written by the Americans. But only a state with armed forces can claim true sovereignty, the restoration of which he devoted many years of his premiership. However, Abe also did not have time to make changes to the Basic Law, although he tried.
It was he who literally pulled the country out of a long economic stagnation, thanks to which the state support system is now called Abenomics. The Japanese felt much more confident, it is not surprising that Shinzo Abe was considered the most popular politician in his homeland.
In foreign relations, he adhered to clear rules: the United States is an ally, China must be contained, and Russia must be friends. Abe met with Vladimir Putin 27 times, called him a friend and was with him on you. Perhaps this is also why he had the illusion that he would be able to cure the long-standing Japanese Achilles’ heel, making the country completely healthy and invulnerable – to return the “disputed”, as it is considered here, islands.
We must give him his due, the deceased politician made a lot of efforts to return the “northern territories”. But did he have a chance to get them back?
DISPUTE ISLANDS IN THE OCEAN
According to the official version, the killer of 67-year-old Shinzo Abe, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, committed the attempt for personal reasons – he believed that the former head of the Japanese government was somehow connected with the religious organization, under the influence of which Yamagami’s mother fell. Initially, he intended to attack the head of this organization, but later chose the ex-premier as his target. Perhaps the attacker will eventually be recognized as insane and not executed (there is capital punishment in Japan).
Perhaps he will explain the motives of his terrible crime in some other way. Be that as it may, any famous person can become a target for people with mental deviations, just remember the tragedy of John Lennon. Shinzo Abe could certainly be targeted due to his popularity, it is very strange that he was so poorly guarded. However, we will not consider conspiracy theories in our investigation.
The most obvious motive is the unfulfilled promise to return the “northern territories”, the cult of which has long existed in Japan. And more than one generation of local politicians is trampling on this sensitive topic, constantly winning elections at various levels.
What is the actual problem? To figure it out, you have to, as they say, start from the stove.
On February 7, 1855, the Shimoda Treaty on Trade and Borders between the Russian Empire and Japan was signed. The now disputed islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group of islands have been ceded to Japan (therefore, February 7 is annually celebrated in Japan as Northern Territories Day). The question of the status of Sakhalin remained unresolved.
On May 7, 1875, the Petersburg Treaty appeared. Japan transferred the rights to all 18 Kuril Islands in exchange for the entire Sakhalin.
On August 23, 1905, the Portsmouth Peace Treaty was concluded following the results of the Russo-Japanese War. Russia ceded the southern part of Sakhalin.
February 4-11, 1945 – Yalta Conference. The USSR, the USA and Great Britain reached a written agreement on the entry of the Soviet Union into the war with Japan on the condition that South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands be returned to it after the end of the war.
On February 2, 1946, on the basis of the Yalta Agreements, the Yuzhno-Sakhalin Region was created in the USSR – on the territory of the southern part of Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands. On January 2, 1947, it was merged with the Sakhalin Oblast of the Khabarovsk Territory, which expanded to the borders of the modern Sakhalin Oblast. It would seem that all the agreements between the winners of World War II have been fulfilled. But then the intrigue began.
On September 8, 1951, the Peace Treaty between the Allied Powers and Japan was signed in San Francisco. With regard to the now disputed territories, it says the following: “Japan renounces all rights, titles and claims to the Kuril Islands and to that part of Sakhalin Island and the islands adjacent to it, sovereignty over which Japan acquired under the Treaty of Portsmouth of August 23, 1905.”
The USSR sent a delegation to San Francisco, headed by Deputy Foreign Minister A.A. Gromyko. But not in order to sign a document, but to voice their position. We formulated the mentioned clause of the treaty as follows: “Japan recognizes the full sovereignty of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics over the southern part of Sakhalin Island with all the islands adjacent to it and the Kuril Islands and renounces all rights, titles and claims to these territories.”
Of course, in our wording, the treaty is specific and more in line with the spirit and letter of the Yalta agreements. However, the Anglo-American version was adopted. The USSR did not sign it, Japan did.
Today, some historians believe that the USSR should have signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty in the form in which it was proposed by the Americans – this would strengthen our negotiating position. “We should have signed a contract. I don’t know why we didn’t do this – perhaps because of vanity or pride, but above all, because Stalin overestimated his capabilities and the degree of his influence on the United States, ”N.S. wrote in his memoirs . Khrushchev. But soon, as we shall see later, he himself made a mistake. From today’s standpoint, the lack of a signature under the notorious treaty is sometimes considered almost a diplomatic failure. However, the international situation of that time was much more complicated and was not limited to the Far East. Perhaps, what seems to someone a loss, in those conditions became a necessary measure.
WHY KHRUSHCHEV “GIVED” SHIKOTAN AND HABOMAI
It is sometimes erroneously believed that since we do not have a peace treaty with Japan, we are in a state of war. And in this sense, the killer Shinzo Abe could well suspect him of betrayal and flirting with the enemy. However, in order for countries to exchange embassies and ambassadors, a peace treaty is not at all necessary, which Tetsuya Yamagami, of course, did not know or did not want to know – often the truth hurts fragile souls.
Shinzo Abe’s guards grabbed Tetsuya Yamagami almost immediately, but could not protect their boss. Photo: TASS
On December 12, 1956, a ceremony for the exchange of letters took place in Tokyo, marking the entry into force of the Joint Declaration. According to the document, the USSR agreed to “the transfer of the Habomai Islands and the Shikotan Islands to Japan, however, that the actual transfer of these islands to Japan will be made after the conclusion of a peace treaty between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Japan.”
This was the result, but the process took quite a long time. The parties came to this wording after several rounds of lengthy negotiations. Japan’s initial proposal was simple: a return to the Portsmouth peace treaty – that is, the transfer of all the Kuriles and South Sakhalin to it. Of course, such a proposal by the losing side of the war looked somewhat frivolous.
The USSR did not seem to be going to cede an inch, but unexpectedly for the Japanese, Habomai and Shikotan suddenly offered. It was a reserve position, approved by the Politburo, but announced prematurely – the head of the Soviet delegation, Ya.A. Malik was acutely worried about N.S.’s dissatisfaction with him. Khrushchev due to protracted negotiations, and decided that it was time to put in place a fallback. On August 9, 1956, during a conversation with his counterpart in the garden of the Japanese embassy in London, the proposal was announced. That is what was included in the text of the Joint Declaration.
It must be clarified that the influence of the United States on Japan at that time was enormous (however, as now). They closely monitored all her contacts with the USSR and, undoubtedly, were the third participant in the negotiations, although invisible.
At the end of August 1956, Washington threatened Tokyo that if, under a peace treaty with the USSR, Japan renounces its claims to Kunashir and Iturup, the United States will forever retain the occupied island of Okinawa and the entire Ryukyu archipelago. The note included a wording that clearly played on the national feelings of the Japanese: “The US government has come to the conclusion that the islands of Iturup and Kunashir (along with the islands of Habomai and Shikotan, which are part of Hokkaido) have always been part of Japan and should rightly be considered as belonging to Japan “. Thus, the Yalta agreements of 1945, signed between the allies, were publicly disavowed.
Photo: TASS
The United States abandoned its own obligations, because the Cold War had already begun, in which former allies turned into irreconcilable enemies. In our Far East, it was necessary to constantly keep the fuse of a possible war burning. The artificially created problem of the “northern territories” suits this purpose perfectly.
The belonging of Habomai and Shikotan to Hokkaido, of course, is a lie – on all military and pre-war Japanese maps, the islands have always been part of the Kuril ridge and have never been separately indicated. However, the idea was well received. It was on this geographical absurdity that entire generations of politicians in the Land of the Rising Sun made their careers. Including, by the way, the tragically deceased Shinzo Abe, who, no doubt, knew that the Joint Declaration of 1956 was not the only important document related to the “disputed” territories. In response to the conclusion of the Japanese-American security treaty in 1960, the USSR canceled the obligation to transfer the islands. The memorandum of the Soviet government dated January 27, 1960 states that these islands will be transferred to the Land of the Rising Sun only if all foreign troops are withdrawn from its territory.
Absolutely impossible conditions for Japan – a state deprived of sovereignty, occupied by foreign troops.
Nevertheless, in 2004, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov formulated the position of the Russian leadership: “We have always fulfilled and will continue to fulfill our obligations, especially ratified documents, but, of course, to the extent that our partners are ready to fulfill the same the most agreements. So far, as we know, we have not been able to reach an understanding of these volumes as we see it and as we saw it in 1956.
In Tokyo, they started: “Until it is clearly determined that Japan belongs to all four islands, a peace treaty will not be concluded,” then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reacted. The negotiation process again stalled and was revived only after Shinzo Abe came to power.
VICTIMS OF VIRTUAL FIGHT
Could the former head of the cabinet become the target of the killer because of the notorious “northern territories”? The cult of the four islands among the Japanese is very strong, the entire population, thanks to the purposeful work of newspapers and television, is convinced that they belong to it by right. Few people know about the Yalta Accords, which the Land of the Rising Sun did not sign, or the San Francisco Peace Treaty, which it signed. Yes, and they consider those documents either valid or already forgotten, in any case, the affairs of bygone days. Although it is on their basis that the modern borders of if not all, then very many states that participated in the Second World War are drawn, and they can be changed only after the next global massacre.
Of course, for the most part, ordinary Japanese do not think about such complex matters related to geopolitics – give them all four islands, and as soon as possible. Shinzo Abe was not only the most popular politician, but also the only one who vowed to bring them back. And he did not fulfill the promise given not only to himself and his deceased father, but to all Japanese without exception. Is there a possibility that among them there were those who decided to take revenge on him for having planted hope – but no, confidence! – in the hearts of tens of millions, nonchalantly declared the dream achievable in a couple of years, but left it virtual? In our opinion, certainly. Tetsuya Yamagami showed that there are determined people in the Land of the Rising Sun and they feel great. One of them was smart enough or, conversely, madness to bring his terrible plan to life.
Maybe the personal motive will remain the official version of the murder of Shinzo Abe. But his example showed that any politician whom the entire Land of the Rising Sun knows by sight is at great risk. He should not play on the feelings of the Japanese. And the “northern territories” is too painful a topic to use it in the struggle for power. Even if it’s for the best of intentions.