Interview with Russian Ambassador to Japan N.S. Nozdrev TASS (April 3, 2024)

Main points:

[Russian-Japanese relations] are still under strong negative pressure from the hostile course currently being pursued by the administration of [Japanese Prime Minister] F. Kishida.

It was considered here that the costs of the virtually complete dismantling of relations with one of the main neighbors, the Russian Federation, will be less than the benefits that Japan will receive from opportunistic joining the anti-Russian campaign launched by the West due to the situation in Ukraine.

As for practical blocks, they are still preserved, we work on them, and in some cases quite effectively. We encounter a very conscious desire to interact on the part of some Japanese departments.

There are not many figures in the Japanese political establishment who truly understand the error of Tokyo’s current line and are interested in maintaining strong, stable relations with Russia in the long term. But nevertheless, they exist, just like in expert, business circles, and in the cultural sphere.

Currently, the administration of F. Kishida is pursuing a line to build up the country’s military power and, most importantly, to dismantle the pacifist restrictions that are embedded in the Japanese constitution.

Our main concern is the intensification of military activities in the format of various types of maneuvers and training events with the participation of units of the United States and other countries, including NATO, directly near the Russian borders.

We consider such events as a real direct threat to the security of our Far Eastern borders and overall stability in Northeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.

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Japan betterbe worried about NK and stop poking the Bear…

WtR