Monday, August 13, 2012

Japan's Territorial Disputes


Majia here: I realize that these are long-standing territorial disputes. That said, I wonder whether Japan is acting more aggressively than in the past to exert its sovereignty over disputed islands as a result of the massive contamination of Honshu from Fukushima?

I do not know the answer to this question and am looking for feedback from readers:

Is Japan more aggressively asserting its sovereignty over disputed islands? Please provide your feedback.

Japan Calls Back Its Envoy From China in Sea Spat. Takashi Nakamichi July 12, 2012, p. A8 Wall Street Journal:
"Japan summoned its ambassador from Beijing, in what appears to be a protest at Chinese vessels recent entry into waters around islands claimed by both countries"


Simmering discontent between Japan and South Korea http://www.japantoday.com/category/opinions/view/simmering-discontent-between-japan-and-south-korea

[Excerpted] The recent face-off between South Korea and Japan over a group of islands in the Sea of Japan may put in jeopardy the peace and security of not only Japan and South Korea but also that of entire Asia, unfortunately, in today’s world when geo-politics is moving toward the East.

With Friday’s surprise visit of South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak to the disputed islands, known as Takeshima in Japanese and Dokdo in Korean, South Korea’s decades-long territorial dispute with its former colonial ruler Japan over these bunch of isles has cropped up, forcing Japan - otherwise a peace-loving and highly enterprising nation - to obviously recall its ambassador in protest....


Japan-Russia talks bring no progress on island dispute
http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/japan-russia-talks-bring-no-progress-on-island-dispute
[Excerpted] Russia and Japan sparred on Saturday over disputed islands that have strained their relations since World War Two, making no visible progress in talks toward a resolution weeks before Russia hosts a summit of Asian states.

Japan wants Russia to hand over four islands at the southern end of the Kuril chain that were occupied by Soviet forces at the end of the war in 1945, saying they are Japanese territory.
Moscow disagrees, and senior Russian officials have drawn protests from Japan in the past two years by traveling to the Pacific islands, which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories.


 

1 comment:

  1. Well, the US is pushing hard for its anti-China alliance and policy, and the current regime in Japan is very much in the Wall Street/CIA/Pentagon nexus. Also, governments that can't or won't do anything useful for the public or even small and medium businesses have very little left other than fake nationalism. So my take is that the main difference post-Fukushima is that it makes the economic and social future even darker, thus requiring more dramatic distractions. A "fight" with that other somewhat colonial government in SK would help in keeping the rubes in line.

    By the way, I noticed on Japanese TV a couple of days ago commercials for joining the military. Hadn't seen that before. And Ueno Park, one of the biggest and most important in the country, has been having a para-military group doing regular drills there for the last year-and-a-half or two. These have the ambiance of right-wing stuff, and the overseers are associated with the usual fake right groups, and, indeed, those "ultra-right" groups usually have a van in the park on the days these drills take place. So, when things get ugly, there will be a non-governmental "national guard" group available.

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