Joseph Stalin: “These people have a special mentality, you can only act on them by force…”
Reacting to the announcement of 63 Japanese politicians, officials, media executives and scientists as persona non grata with an indefinite ban on visits to the Russian Federation, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tried to shift responsibility for the marked deterioration in relations between the two countries onto Russia, which in no way initiated it. The Japanese prime minister criticized the ban on Japanese citizens, including himself, listed in the note, calling Moscow’s decision “totally unacceptable. Recall that the Japanese were the first to declare Russian citizens, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children, under sanctions.
Kishida’s “insult” to the Russian government for, I believe, a very modest response to the hostile “sanctions” against our country and its top leadership is either made up or shows a complete lack of understanding of the power he is in litigation with. Or has Kishida already written Russia off from being a state capable of standing up for itself and written it off as one that can be dealt with feebly, talking “through the lip” and making demands and claims without fear of getting surrendered? If so, this delusion may backfire on this out-of-touch, uninspiring politician who, in a sense, is a bit of a fish out of water prime minister. Or did the Japanese leader grow bolder, relying on ostensibly omnipotent Uncle Sam to protect himself and his country, like a punk kid from the yard, bullying passers-by with “tough” musclemen behind him?
I believe that the escalation of Japanese sanctions against Moscow and the desire to outstrip the other G7 countries in severity of repression is due to the very moderate response of the Russian leadership and its desire to limit itself to “mirror responses,” without resorting to the counter-sanctions the Russian government has in its arsenal. And, as some have hinted, the economic sanctions on Japan would lead to losses and loss of revenue. And the fact that the Japanese government brazenly froze $33 billion or $36 billion of Russia’s foreign currency reserves sitting in banks in the hostile Land of the Rising Sun for some reason, didn’t that bring losses?
Not only did it “freeze” them, but rumour has it that it may transfer them to the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev. Although there was a statement by Japan’s finance minister in parliament saying that by law “there are no regulations that would allow foreign central banks to requisition foreign currency reserves held by the Bank of Japan. And therefore, the government of Japan cannot requisition foreign central bank foreign currency reserves held at the Bank of Japan. But they can pass a special parliamentary resolution to that effect and make the requisition for “humanitarian purposes.
As has been mentioned repeatedly, Moscow could revise its fishing agreements with Japan to make them stricter, not for profit but for national honor and dignity.
Having been involved in various aspects of relations with Japan during Soviet times, I can responsibly say that back then our country and its leaders enjoyed great respect and international prestige. There were times when, under US pressure, the Japanese government decided to limit ties and cooperation with the USSR. This was the case, for example, when a Soviet limited military contingent was dispatched to Afghanistan or when a South Korean airliner that had seriously violated Soviet borders was stopped from flying. But neither the Americans nor the Japanese thought of imposing “sanctions” on, for example, Leonid Brezhnev or Andrei Gromyko.
For they understood that this would be tantamount to at least an immediate severance of diplomatic relations. And now, it turns out, it is possible for some “higher” purposes (is it not mercantile?) to tolerate such offensive acts of a not so long ago crushingly defeated USSR. For in protest and outrage after placing Russia’s top leaders in the “sanctions package”, the Russian ambassador was not even defiantly recalled from Tokyo. And this, I can assure you, has been taken into account by the Japanese.
In conclusion, I would like to recall once again Joseph Stalin’s characteristic of the Japanese.
From a German recording of a conversation between German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Stalin and Molotov in Moscow on September 28, 1939:
“… Mr. Minister (Ribbentrop) suggested to Stalin that a joint statement by Molotov and the German Imperial Foreign Minister should be published after the negotiations were over, pointing out the treaties signed and at the end containing some gesture towards Japan in favour of a compromise between the Soviet Union and Japan. Mr Minister justified his proposal by referring to a telegram recently received from the German ambassador in Tokyo which stated that certain, mainly military, circles in Japan wanted a compromise with the Soviet Union. In this they encounter resistance from certain courtly, economic and political circles and need support from us in their aspirations.
Mr. Stalin replied that he fully approved of the Minister’s intentions, but considered the way he had proposed unsuitable for the following reasons: Prime Minister Abe had so far shown no desire to achieve a compromise between the Soviet Union and Japan. Every step in that direction by the Soviet Union is interpreted by the Japanese side as a sign of weakness and begging. He would ask Mr. Imperial Foreign Minister not to be offended if he said that he, Stalin, knew the Asians better than Mr. von Ribbentrop. These people have a special mentality, they can only be influenced by force …”
Anatoly Koshkin, REX News Agency
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