Vladislav Antonyuk, Deputy Director of the Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, made a statement that the process of destroying chemical weapons left in China by the Japanese Kwantung Army during World War II is slow, and this poses a threat to Russia's ecology. “We are constantly monitoring the situation, there is a threat to the Far East, since many ammunition was buried in riverbeds, which, in general, are transboundary,” the diplomat said at a meeting of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security.

00:15 — REGNUM At the request of the PRC, Japan is also participating in the elimination of Japanese chemical weapons remaining on Chinese territory. However, since the destruction of deadly poisonous substances (S) uses "detonation method technology that does not imply high rates," the elimination, according to Antonyuk, "may drag on for many decades." If the Japanese side claims that more than 700,000 chemical shells are subject to disposal, then, according to Chinese data, there are more than two million of them.

There is information that during the post-war period, about two thousand Chinese died from Japanese chemical weapons. For example, there is a well-known case that occurred in 2003 when construction workers from the Chinese city of Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province, found five metal barrels with chemical weapons in the ground and, when trying to open them, received severe poisoning, as a result of which 36 people were hospitalized for a long time.

In the reference literature we find information that in 1933 Japan secretly purchased from Germany (this became possible after the Nazis came to power) equipment for the production of mustard gas and began to produce it in Hiroshima Prefecture. Subsequently, chemical factories of a military profile appeared in other cities of Japan, and then in the occupied territory of China. The activities of military chemical laboratories were carried out in close contact with the institute for the development of bacteriological weapons, called Detachment 731, which was called the "Devil's Kitchen". The military scientific research institutes for banned bacteriological and chemical weapons were created by order of Emperor Hirohito, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Armed Forces, and were part of the Main Directorate of Armaments of the Japanese Army, which was directly subordinate to the Minister of War. The most famous research institute for chemical weapons was Detachment No. 516.

Combat agents were tested in China on prisoners of war of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China, as well as on Russian emigrants and simply Chinese peasants, who were caught by the gendarmerie for these purposes. For field tests, they went to the training ground: there people were tied to wooden poles and chemical munitions were blown up.

Quote from the film "The Man Behind the Sun". Dir. Tung Fei Mou. 1988. Hong Kong - China

In one of the publications about the inhuman experiments of Japanese monsters in white coats, it is reported: “The experiments were carried out in two - small and large, specially designed - chambers connected into one system. Mustard gas, hydrogen cyanide or carbon monoxide was pumped into a large chamber, intended to regulate the concentration of a poisonous substance. Air with a certain concentration of gas was supplied through pipes equipped with a valve into a small chamber, where the test subject was placed. Almost all of the small chamber, with the exception of the rear wall and ceiling, was made of bulletproof glass, through which the observation and filming of experiments was carried out.

In a large chamber for determining the concentration of gas in the air, a Shimazu instrument was installed. With its help, the relationship between the concentration of gas and the time of death of the test subject was clarified. For the same purpose, animals were placed in a small chamber along with people. According to a former employee of "detachment No. 516", the experiments showed that "the endurance of a person is approximately equal to the endurance of a pigeon: in the conditions in which the pigeon died, the experimental person also died."

As a rule, the experiments were carried out on prisoners who had already been subjected in Detachment 731 to experiments on obtaining blood serum or frostbite. Sometimes they were put on gas masks and military uniforms, or, conversely, they were completely naked, leaving only loincloths.

For each experiment, one prisoner was used, while an average of 4-5 people were sent to the "gas chamber" per day. Usually the experiments lasted the whole day, from morning to evening, and in total more than 50 of them were carried out in Detachment 731. “Experiments with poisonous gases were carried out in Detachment 731 at the level of the latest scientific achievements,” testified senior officers. “It took only 5-7 minutes to kill the test subject in the gas chamber.”

In many major cities in China, the Japanese army built military chemical plants and warehouses for the storage of chemical agents. One of the large factories was located in Qiqihar, it specialized in equipping aerial bombs, artillery shells and mines with mustard gas. The central warehouse of the Kwantung Army with chemical projectiles was located in the city of Changchun, and its branches were in Harbin, Kirin and other cities. In addition, numerous warehouses with OM were located in the areas of Hulin, Mudanjiang and others. The formations and units of the Kwantung Army had battalions and separate companies to infect the area, and the chemical detachments had mortar batteries that could be used to apply poisonous substances.

During the war years, the Japanese army had the following poisonous gases at its disposal: “yellow” No. 1 (mustard gas), “yellow” No. 2 (lewisite), “tea” (hydrogen cyanide), “blue” (phosgenoxine), “red” (diphenylcyanarsine ). Approximately 25% of the artillery and 30% of the aircraft ammunition of the Japanese army had chemical equipment.

Documents from the Japanese army show that chemical weapons were widely used in the war in China from 1937 to 1945. About 400 cases of combat use of this weapon are known for certain. However, there is also evidence that this figure actually ranges from 530 to 2000. It is believed that more than 60 thousand people became victims of Japanese chemical weapons, although their real number may be much higher. In some battles, the loss of Chinese troops from poisonous substances was up to 10%. The reason for this was the lack of chemical protection and poor chemical training among the Chinese - there were no gas masks, very few chemical instructors were trained, and most bomb shelters did not have chemical protection.

The most massive chemical weapons were used in the summer of 1938 during one of the largest operations of the Japanese army in the area of ​​the Chinese city of Wuhan. The purpose of the operation was the victorious end of the war in China and the focus on preparations for a war against the USSR. During this operation, 40,000 canisters and ammunition with diphenylcyanarsine gas were used, which led to the death of a large number of people, including civilians.

Here is the testimony of the researchers of the Japanese "chemical warfare": "During the" Battle of Wuhan "(Wuhan city in Hubei province) from August 20 to November 12, 1938, the 2nd and 11th Japanese armies used chemical weapons at least 375 times (used up 48 thousand chemical shells). More than 9,000 chemical mortars and 43,000 chemical warfare canisters were involved in the chemical attacks.

On October 1, 1938, during the battle of Dingxiang (Shanxi Province), the Japanese fired 2,500 chemical shells over an area of ​​2,700 square meters.

In March 1939, chemical weapons were used against Kuomintang troops quartered in Nanchang. The full staff of the two divisions - about 20,000 thousand people - died as a result of poisoning. Since August 1940, the Japanese have used chemical weapons along railway lines 11 times in North China, killing over 10,000 Chinese troops. In August 1941, 5,000 servicemen and civilians were killed in a chemical attack on an anti-Japanese base. Mustard gas spraying in Yichang, Hubei province, killed 600 Chinese troops and injured 1,000 others.

In October 1941, Japanese aviation carried out one of the massive raids on Wuhan (60 aircraft were involved) using chemical bombs. As a result, thousands of civilians were killed. On May 28, 1942, during a punitive operation in the village of Beitang, Dingxian County, Hebei Province, over 1,000 peasants and militias hiding in the catacombs were killed with asphyxiating gases.

Chemical weapons, like bacteriological weapons, were also planned to be used in the course of the war against the Soviet Union. Such plans were maintained in the Japanese army until its surrender. These misanthropic plans were frustrated as a result of the entry into the war against militaristic Japan of the Soviet Union, which delivered the peoples from the horrors of bacteriological and chemical destruction. The commander of the Kwantung Army, General Otozo Yamada, admitted at the trial: "The entry of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan and the rapid advance of Soviet troops deep into Manchuria deprived us of the opportunity to use bacteriological weapons against the USSR and other countries."

The accumulation of huge quantities of bacteriological and chemical weapons, the plans to use them in the war with the Soviet Union testify to the fact that militarist Japan, like Nazi Germany, sought to wage an all-out war against the USSR and its people with the aim of mass destruction of the Soviet people.

Vladislav Antonyuk, Deputy Director of the Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, made a statement that the process of destroying the chemical weapons left in China by the Japanese Kwantung Army during World War II is slow, and this poses a threat to Russia's ecology. “We are constantly monitoring the situation, there is a threat to the Far East, since many ammunition was buried in the riverbeds, which, in general, are transboundary,” the diplomat said at a meeting of the Federation Council committee on defense and security.

At the request of the PRC, Japan is also participating in the liquidation of Japanese chemical weapons remaining on Chinese territory. However, since the destruction of deadly poisonous substances (S) uses "detonation method technology that does not imply high rates," the elimination, according to Antonyuk, "may drag on for many decades." If the Japanese side claims that more than 700,000 chemical shells are subject to disposal, then, according to Chinese data, there are more than two million of them.

There is information that during the post-war period, about 2 thousand Chinese died from Japanese chemical weapons. For example, there is a well-known case that occurred in 2003 when construction workers from the Chinese city of Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province, found five metal barrels with chemical weapons in the ground and, when trying to open them, received severe poisoning, as a result of which 36 people were hospitalized for a long time.

In the reference literature we find information that in 1933 Japan secretly purchased from Germany (this became possible after the Nazis came to power) equipment for the production of mustard gas and began to produce it in Hiroshima Prefecture. Subsequently, chemical factories of a military profile appeared in other cities of Japan, and then in the occupied territory of China. The activities of military chemical laboratories were carried out in close contact with the institute for the development of bacteriological weapons, called Detachment 731, which received the name "devil's kitchen". The military scientific research institutes for banned bacteriological and chemical weapons were created by order of Emperor Hirohito, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Armed Forces, and were part of the Main Directorate of Armaments of the Japanese Army, which was directly subordinate to the Minister of War. The most famous research institute for chemical weapons was Detachment No. 516.

Combat agents were tested in China on prisoners of war of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China, as well as on Russian emigrants and simply Chinese peasants, who were caught by the gendarmerie for these purposes. For field tests, they went to the training ground: there people were tied to wooden poles and chemical munitions were blown up.

In one of the publications about the inhuman experiments of Japanese monsters in white coats, it is reported: “The experiments were carried out in two - small and large, specially designed - chambers connected into one system. Mustard gas, hydrogen cyanide or carbon monoxide was pumped into a large chamber, intended to regulate the concentration of a poisonous substance. Air with a certain concentration of gas was supplied through pipes equipped with a valve into a small chamber, where the test subject was placed. Almost all of the small chamber, with the exception of the rear wall and ceiling, was made of bulletproof glass, through which the observation and filming of experiments was carried out.

In a large chamber for determining the concentration of gas in the air, a Shimadzu instrument was installed. With its help, the relationship between the concentration of gas and the time of death of the test subject was clarified. For the same purpose, animals were placed in a small chamber along with people. According to a former employee of Detachment 516, the experiments showed that “the endurance of a person is approximately equal to the endurance of a pigeon: in the conditions in which the pigeon died, the experimental person also died.”

As a rule, the experiments were carried out on prisoners who had already been subjected in Detachment 731 to experiments on obtaining blood serum or frostbite. Sometimes they were put on gas masks and military uniforms, or vice versa, they were completely naked, leaving only loincloths.

For each experiment, one prisoner was used, while an average of 4–5 people were sent to the “gas chamber” per day. Usually the experiments lasted all day, from morning to evening, and in total more than 50 of them were carried out in Detachment 731. “Experiments with poisonous gases were carried out in Detachment 731 at the level of the latest scientific achievements,” senior officers. “It took only 5-7 minutes to kill a test subject in the gas chamber.”

In many major cities in China, the Japanese army built military chemical plants and warehouses for the storage of chemical agents. One of the large factories was located in Qiqihar, it specialized in equipping aerial bombs, artillery shells and mines with mustard gas. The central warehouse of the Kwantung Army with chemical projectiles was located in the city of Changchun, and its branches were located in Harbin, Jilin and other cities. In addition, numerous warehouses with OM were located in the areas of Hulin, Mudanjiang and others. The formations and units of the Kwantung Army had battalions and separate companies to infect the area, and chemical detachments had mortar batteries that could be used to apply poisonous substances.

During the war years, the Japanese army had the following poisonous gases at its disposal: “yellow” No. 1 (mustard gas), “yellow” No. 2 (lewisite), “tea” (hydrogen cyanide), “blue” (phosgenoxine), “red” (diphenylcyanarsine ). Approximately 25% of the artillery and 30% of the aircraft ammunition of the Japanese army had chemical equipment.

Documents from the Japanese army indicate that chemical weapons were widely used in the war in China from 1937 to 1945. About 400 cases of combat use of this weapon are known for certain. However, there is also evidence that this figure actually ranges from 530 to 2000. It is believed that more than 60 thousand people became victims of Japanese chemical weapons, although their real number may be much higher. In some battles, the loss of Chinese troops from poisonous substances was up to 10%. The reason for this was the lack of anti-chemical protection and poor chemical training among the Chinese - there were no gas masks, very few chemical instructors were trained, and most bomb shelters did not have anti-chemical protection.

The most massive chemical weapons were used in the summer of 1938 during one of the largest operations of the Japanese army in the area of ​​the Chinese city of Wuhan. The purpose of the operation was the victorious end of the war in China and the focus on preparations for a war against the USSR. During this operation, 40,000 canisters and ammunition with diphenylcyanarsine gas were used, which led to the death of a large number of people, including civilians.

Here is the testimony of the researchers of the Japanese “chemical warfare”: “During the“ Battle of Wuhan ”(Wuhan city in Hubei province) from August 20 to November 12, 1938, the 2nd and 11th Japanese armies used chemical weapons at least 375 times (used up 48 thousand chemical shells). More than 9,000 chemical mortars and 43,000 warheads were used in the chemical attacks.

On October 1, 1938, during the battle of Dingxiang (Shanxi Province), the Japanese fired 2,500 chemical shells over an area of ​​2,700 square meters.

In March 1939, chemical weapons were used against Kuomintang troops quartered in Nanchang. The full staff of the two divisions - about 20,000 thousand people - died as a result of poisoning. Since August 1940, the Japanese have used chemical weapons along railway lines 11 times in North China, killing over 10,000 Chinese troops. In August 1941, 5,000 servicemen and civilians were killed in a chemical attack on an anti-Japanese base. Mustard gas spraying in Yichang, Hubei province, killed 600 Chinese troops and injured 1,000 others.

In October 1941, Japanese aviation carried out one of the massive raids on Wuhan (60 aircraft were involved) using chemical bombs. As a result, thousands of civilians were killed. On May 28, 1942, during a punitive operation in the village of Beitang, Dingxian County, Hebei Province, over 1,000 peasants and militias hiding in the catacombs were killed with asphyxiating gases” (See “The Beitang Tragedy”).

Chemical weapons, like bacteriological weapons, were also planned to be used in the course of the war against the Soviet Union. Such plans were maintained in the Japanese army until its surrender. These misanthropic plans were frustrated as a result of the entry into the war against militaristic Japan of the Soviet Union, which delivered the peoples from the horrors of bacteriological and chemical destruction. The commander of the Kwantung Army, General Otozo Yamada, admitted at the trial: "The entry into the war against Japan of the Soviet Union and the rapid advance of Soviet troops into the depths of Manchuria deprived us of the opportunity to use bacteriological weapons against the USSR and other countries."

The accumulation of huge quantities of bacteriological and chemical weapons, the plans to use them in the war with the Soviet Union testify to the fact that militarist Japan, like Nazi Germany, sought to wage an all-out war against the USSR and its people with the aim of mass destruction of the Soviet people.

@ Anatoly Koshkin
Among the comments on one of my articles, I read the opinion of a female student: “Of course, the Kuriles should not be given away. I think they will work for us too. But, since the Japanese are so stubbornly demanding the islands, they probably have some reason for this. They, they say, refer to the fact that Moscow, they say, has no legal rights to own the islands. I think the clarification of this issue now, when the Japanese side is again exaggerating the so-called "territorial issue", is especially useful.

The reader can learn about how the Kuril Islands, which belonged to the Russian Empire since 1786, passed from hand to hand, from the relevant historical literature. So let's start from 1945.

In the 8th paragraph of the Potsdam Declaration of the Allied Powers on the terms of the unconditional surrender of militarist Japan, it is written: "The conditions of the Cairo Declaration must be fulfilled, Japanese sovereignty will be limited to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and smaller islands that we indicate."

During a period of heated discussion within the top leadership of militaristic Japan about developing an attitude towards the Potsdam Declaration, namely, disputes over whether to capitulate on its basis or not, this item was practically not discussed. The Japanese “war party”, which did not want to lay down its arms, was not worried about the territory of the defeated country, but about its own fate. The generals agreed to capitulate only on the condition that the existing state system be preserved, the Japanese themselves punish war criminals, independently disarm and prevent the occupation of Japan by the Allies.

As for the territorial possessions, they were considered as an object of bargaining when trying to get out of the war, avoiding capitulation. To sacrifice something, to bargain for something. At the same time, a special role in diplomatic maneuvers belonged to South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, torn away from Russia by Japan. These lands were supposed to be ceded to the USSR in exchange for its refusal to enter the war against Japan on the side of the USA and Great Britain. Moreover, in the summer of 1945, the Soviet leadership was informed about the possibility of a "voluntary" transfer to the Soviet Union of one of the main islands of the Japanese archipelago - Hokkaido, which, unlike South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, Moscow never claimed. This was allowed in the expectation that the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, instead of declaring war, would act as an intermediary between the warring parties in the negotiations for a truce on terms favorable to Japan.

However, history decreed otherwise. As a result of the entry of the USSR into the war and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese elite had no choice but to unconditionally surrender with the adoption of all the points of the Potsdam Declaration, which the Japanese government undertook to strictly observe.

The 6th paragraph of the Japanese Surrender Act of September 2, 1945 states: “We hereby pledge that the Japanese government and its successors will faithfully comply with the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, give those orders and take those actions that, in order to implement this declaration, will require Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers or any other representative appointed by the Allied Powers." By accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, the Japanese government also agreed with the point indicated in it on the future borders of their country.

The "General Order No. 1" of the Allied Command on the surrender of the Japanese armed forces, approved by US President Harry Truman, determined: "Include all(emphasized by the author) the Kuril Islands to the area that must capitulate to the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Far East. Fulfilling this provision of the order, the Soviet troops occupied the islands of the Kuril chain up to Hokkaido. In this regard, it is difficult to agree with the statement of the Japanese government that the Soviet command allegedly intended to occupy the Kuril Islands only up to the island of Urup, and the Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai islands were occupied only after "learning about the absence (on them) of American troops." The geographical innovation invented after the war about the "non-inclusion" of these four islands in the Kuril ridge (Japanese name - Chisima retto) is refuted by Japanese documents and maps of the pre-war and war periods.

Of fundamental importance is the directive of the commander of the occupying forces in Japan, General Douglas MacArthur No. 677/1 of January 29, 1946, in which, in pursuance of the 8th paragraph of the Potsdam Declaration, the allied command determined the islands that were withdrawn from Japanese sovereignty. Along with other territories, Japan was deprived of all the islands north of Hokkaido. The directive clearly stated that the Chisima (Kurile) islands, as well as the Habomai group of islands (Sushio, Yuri, Akiyuri, Shibotsu, Taraku) and the island of Shikotan, were excluded from the jurisdiction of the state or administrative authorities of Japan. The Japanese government did not object, because this was in line with the terms of surrender.

Following the issuance of a directive in pursuance of the Yalta agreement on the return of South Sakhalin and the transfer of the Kuril Islands to the USSR, on February 2, 1946, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Yuzhno-Sakhalin Region was formed in these territories with its inclusion in the Khabarovsk Territory of the RSFSR.

The agreement of the Japanese government with the decision of the allied powers to withdraw all the Kuril Islands from the Japanese state is contained in the text of the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951. Clause c) of Article 2 of the treaty reads: "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 Portsmouth Treaty of September 5, 1905."

Then the Japanese government proceeded from the fact that the Kuriles (Tishima Islands) ceased to be Japanese territory. This was clearly manifested during the ratification of the San Francisco Peace Treaty in the Japanese Parliament. On October 6, 1951, the head of the treaty department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Kumao Nishimura, made the following statement in the House of Representatives: “Since Japan had to give up sovereignty over the Chisima Islands, it has lost the right to vote on the final decision on the issue of their ownership. Since Japan, by peace treaty, has agreed to renounce sovereignty over these territories, this question, insofar as it concerns her, is resolved. Nishimura's statement in parliament on October 19, 1951 is also known that "the territorial limits of the Chisima archipelago, referred to in the treaty, include both Northern Chisima and Southern Chisima." Thus, during the ratification of the San Francisco Peace Treaty, the highest legislative body of the Japanese state stated the fact that Japan had abandoned all the islands of the Kuril chain.

After the ratification of the San Francisco Treaty, there was a consensus in the political world of Japan that in the course of a peaceful settlement with the USSR, territorial claims should be limited only to islands close to Hokkaido, namely, to seek the return of only the Lesser Kuril ridge of Habomai and Shikotan Island. This was recorded in the unanimously adopted parliamentary resolution of all political parties in Japan on July 31, 1952. Thus, the remaining Kuril Islands, including Kunashir and Iturup, were actually recognized as belonging to the USSR.

Although at the Japanese-Soviet negotiations on ending the state of war and concluding a peace treaty, the Japanese delegation initially put forward claims to all the Kuril Islands and the southern half of Sakhalin, in reality the task was to return only the Habomai and Shikotan islands to Japan. Plenipotentiary representative of the government of Japan at the Soviet-Japanese negotiations in 1955-1956. Shun'ichi Matsumoto admitted that when he first heard the proposal of the Soviet side about their readiness to transfer the islands of Habomai and Shikotan to Japan after the conclusion of the peace treaty, he "at first did not believe his ears", but "he was very happy in his soul." After such a serious concession, Matsumoto himself was confident in the end of negotiations and the early signing of a peace treaty. However, the Americans rudely blocked this possibility.

Recently, the Japanese media and scientific studies have begun to acknowledge the fact of an arbitrary demand for the “return of the northern territories” - the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai ridge under pressure from the United States and the anti-Soviet part of the Japanese establishment, uninterested in the Soviet-Japanese normalization. It was they who came up with in March 1956 the previously non-existent propaganda slogan "struggle for the northern territories." This was done in order to avoid the name Chisima (Kuril Islands) in the slogans, which, as indicated above, Japan officially abandoned. By the way, it is important to realize that in addition to the requirement of the four southern islands of the Kuril ridge, Japan also has an expansive interpretation of the invented concept of “northern territories”, namely, the inclusion of the entire Kuril ridge, up to Kamchatka, as well as Karafuto, that is, Sakhalin.

The legal basis for bilateral relations was created by the signing on October 19, 1956, and then by the ratification of the Joint Declaration of the USSR and Japan, which ended the state of war and restored diplomatic and consular relations between the two countries. As a gesture of goodwill, the then Soviet government agreed to include the following provision in the text of the declaration: “... The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, meeting the wishes of Japan and taking into account the interests of the Japanese state, agrees to the transfer of the Habomai Islands and the island of Shikotan (Shikotan) to Japan, however, that the actual transfer of these islands to Japan will be made after the conclusion of the Peace Treaty between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Japan. By signing and ratifying this document, the Japanese government legally recognized that South Sakhalin and all the Kuril Islands belonged to the Soviet Union, because the latter could only "transfer" its territory to another state.

As representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry have repeatedly pointed out, the position taken by the Japanese government testifies to its open non-recognition of the results of World War II and the demand for their revision.

Note that the claims of the Japanese government to the territories, the possession of which is enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, fall under the concept of "revanchism". As you know, in the political lexicon, revanchism (French revanchisme, from revanche - "revenge") means "the desire to revise the results of defeats in the past, to return the territories lost in the war." Attempts to accuse the Russian Federation of allegedly “illegal occupation and retention of the Kuril Islands”, in our opinion, create a situation where the Russian government, if such allegations continue at the official level, has the right to raise this issue before the international community in the UN, as well as file a lawsuit with the International court in The Hague.

Recall that Japan has "territorial problems" with all neighboring states. For example, the Government of the Republic of Korea is strongly protesting against the inclusion of Japanese claims to the Seoul-administered Dokdo Islands in government white papers on foreign policy and defense, as well as in school textbooks. A tense situation also persists in the area of ​​the Diaoyu Islands (Senkaku) held by Japan, to which, citing historical documents and facts, the PRC lays claim. Needless to say, whipping up excitement around territorial claims against neighboring states does not at all unite, but divides peoples, sows discord among them, and is fraught with confrontation, including military confrontation.

In an effort to convince the President of the Russian Federation V. Putin and the entire Russian people of fabulous prospects for our country in the event of the surrender of the South Kuril Islands to Japan, Japanese Prime Minister S. Abe does not spare colors and fake enthusiasm.

Recall his speech at the Eastern Economic Forum in September this year:

“This year, on May 25, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, I attracted the attention of the audience with the words: “Let's dream.” I then urged the audience to hopefully imagine what will happen in our entire region when permanent stability is restored between Japan and Russia ...

The Arctic Ocean, the Bering Sea, the North Pacific Ocean, the Sea of ​​Japan will then be able to become the main sea route of peace and prosperity, and the islands that were once the cause of confrontation will turn into a symbol of Japanese-Russian cooperation and open up favorable opportunities as a logistics hub, a stronghold . The Sea of ​​Japan will also change, becoming a logistics highway.

And after that, perhaps, a vast macro-region controlled by free, honest rules will appear in China, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia - up to the countries of the Indo-Pacific region. And this region will be full of peace, prosperity and dynamism…” And so on and so forth.

And this is said by the head of state, who has declared to our country and is not going to lift illegal economic sanctions designed to further complicate the life of the people of Russia, to prevent its development. The head of state, considering, as the closest military ally of the United States, Russia as an enemy, which must be resisted in every possible way. Hearing such hypocritical speeches, right, it becomes embarrassing for Abe-san, and for all the Japanese for frank insincerity and an attempt to achieve the desired goal with flattery and promises - to tear away from our country the Far Eastern lands that legally belong to it.

Shigeki Sumi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ukraine, who headed the diplomatic mission of the Land of the Rising Sun right after the “revolution of dignity” in 2014, recently spoke about the true attitude towards our country. In an interview (Ukrinform, Ukraine), he first said that, in response to the “annexation” of Crimea by Russia and the conflict in Donbas, “Japan imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation. I want to emphasize that at that time in Asia only Japan acted so decisively ... And Tokyo also began to provide assistance to Ukraine for a total of 1.86 billion US dollars. What this Japanese money went for, the ambassador does not specify, although it is quite possible that it was also used to wage war against the people of Donbass.

Insisting, contrary to facts and logic, on the allegedly “forced” annexation of Crimea to Russia, the plenipotentiary representative of Japan reports: “Firstly, the Japanese position is that it does not recognize and will not recognize in the future the “annexation” of Crimea, which Russia declared. Therefore, Japan will continue anti-Russian sanctions as long as the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia continues.”

Important confession. Considering that Crimea has “returned to its native harbor” forever, the ambassador reports that his government, that is, the Abe cabinet, is by no means going to reconsider the decision on sanctions against Russia. How can one not recall the ironic remark of Russian President V. Putin that Tokyo imposed sanctions, apparently to "strengthen confidence between Japan and Russia."

But then the ambassador catches on, remembering, apparently, his boss's flirting with Moscow in the hope of getting the Kuriles. A clumsy justification follows: “The various actions of Russia against Ukraine, the issue of Crimea and the issue of Donbass should be separated from negotiations on the return of the Northern Territories. This is Japan's position. Friendly relations with Russia are needed precisely to resolve the issue of the Northern Territories, because Japan has been making efforts for this since the end of the Second World War ... "

Thank you, Mr. Ambassador, for acknowledging that Tokyo needs "friendship with Russia" precisely for bargaining for the Kuril Islands. I hope that the Russian authorities will pay attention to this meaningful and very frank confession.

“Secondly, the Japanese position regarding Donbass is that it is occupied by so-called armed groups. Japan does not recognize this long-term occupation, and therefore does not recognize the so-called "elections" that took place there. This is the position of Japan, and we publicly declare it,” the ambassador said.

During the interview, it also became clear that at the Russian-Japanese talks at the top, Tokyo, in fact, is trying to blackmail Moscow, threatening to continue sanctions: “Despite friendly relations, if a friend does something bad, then we say that this is wrong. And if he does not give up his actions, then, of course, we do something so that he comes to his senses. Of course, Japan imposes sanctions against Russia not for sanctions. On the contrary, if Russia returns Crimea to Ukraine and fulfills the Minsk agreements in order to resolve the issue in Donbass, decides everything positively, then the sanctions will end. We clearly explain this to Russia.”

And not a word about the responsibility of Kiev and its Western patrons, including Japan, for unleashing a fratricidal war in Ukraine.

Some in Russia emphasize that the sanctions announced by Japan to our country are supposedly “symbolic” and do not have a serious impact on trade and economic relations between the two countries. This is only partly true, if we recall, for example, the refusal of Japanese companies to buy Russian aluminum for fear of US dissatisfaction. However, much more sensitive for Moscow is the political position of "Shinzo's friend", who in everything agrees with the decisions of the "Big Seven" on policy towards Russia. And at the same time, he draws bright prospects for the future of Japanese-Russian prosperity, promising all sorts of benefits after the surrender of the Kuriles.

Seeing such, frankly, double-dealing policy, one again recalls the "exchange of courtesies" between Joseph Stalin and Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka in April 1941 during negotiations on a bilateral non-aggression pact.

From the transcript of the negotiations: “...Matsuoka declares that he had an instruction that talked about the sale of Northern Sakhalin, but since the USSR does not agree, nothing can be done.

Tov. Stalin approaches the map and, pointing to its outlets to the ocean, says: Japan holds in its hands all the outlets of the Soviet Primorye to the ocean - the Kuril Strait near the southern cape of Kamchatka, the La Perouse Strait south of Sakhalin, the Tsushima Strait near Korea. Now you want to take Northern Sakhalin and seal up the Soviet Union altogether. What are you, says Comrade. Stalin, smiling, want to strangle us? What kind of friendship is this?

Matsuoka says that this would be necessary to create a new order in Asia. Besides, says Matsuoka, Japan has no objection to the USSR going through India to the warm sea. In India, Matsuoka adds, there are Hindus that Japan can lead so that they don't get in the way. In conclusion, Matsuoka says, pointing to the USSR on the map, that he does not understand why the USSR, which has a huge territory, does not want to cede a small territory in such a cold place.

Tov. Stalin asks: why do you need the cold regions of Sakhalin?

Matsuoka replies that this will create calm in the area, and in addition, Japan agrees to the USSR's access to the warm sea.

Tov. Stalin replies that this gives peace to Japan, and the USSR will have to wage war here (points to India). It doesn't fit.

Further, Matsuoka, pointing to the region of the southern seas and Indonesia, says that if the USSR needs anything in this region, then Japan can deliver rubber and other products to the USSR. Matsuoka says that Japan wants to help the USSR, not interfere.
Tov. Stalin replies that taking Northern Sakhalin means interfering with the life of the Soviet Union.

To paraphrase the leader's statement, it is high time to say directly to Abe-san: "To take the Kuril Islands means to interfere with Russia's life."

Anatoly Koshkin, IA REGNUM.

In April 2016, on the eve of the talks between Russian and Japanese Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Fumio Kishida, the right-wing nationalist Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun demanded that the Russian government "return" the Kuril Islands, apologize for their "illegal abduction" and recognize "Moscow's violation of the pact on neutrality," which Tokyo supposedly enforced steadily and honestly.
Rodina wrote in detail about the results of the Yalta Conference and the diplomatic collisions that dotted the i's on the issue of the islands ("The Kuril issue was resolved. In 1945", No. 12 for 2015). The 70th anniversary of the beginning of the work of the Tokyo Tribunal is a good occasion to recall how "honestly and in good faith" Japan fulfilled the terms of the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact.

Verdict of the International Tribunal

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East - a trial "of persons accused individually, or as members of organizations, or as both at the same time, of committing any crimes constituting crimes against peace" - was held in Tokyo from May 3, 1946 to November 12, 1948 The verdict stated: "The Tribunal considers that the aggressive war against the USSR was foreseen and planned by Japan during the period under review, that it was one of the main elements of Japanese national policy and that its goal was to seize the territory of the USSR in the Far East."

Another quote: "It is obvious that Japan was not sincere when concluding a neutrality pact with the Soviet Union (April 1941 - Auth.) And, considering its agreements with Germany more profitable, signed a neutrality pact in order to facilitate the implementation of plans attacks on the USSR ... "

And finally, one more: "The evidence presented to the Tribunal indicates that Japan, far from being neutral, as it should have been in accordance with the pact concluded with the USSR, provided significant assistance to Germany."

Let's dwell on this in more detail.

Blitzkrieg in the Kremlin

On April 13, 1941, at the banquet in the Kremlin on the occasion of the signing of the Neutrality Pact ("diplomatic blitzkrieg" Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka called it), an atmosphere of satisfaction reigned. According to eyewitnesses, Joseph Stalin, trying to emphasize his cordiality, personally moved the guests' plates with dishes and poured wine. Raising his glass, Matsuoka said, "The agreement is signed. I am not lying. If I lie, my head will be yours. If you lie, I will come for your head."

Stalin grimaced, and then said in all seriousness: "My head is important for my country. Just like yours is for your country. Let's make sure that our heads remain on our shoulders." And, having already said goodbye to the Japanese minister in the Kremlin, he unexpectedly appeared at the Yaroslavl railway station to personally see off Matsuoka. One of a kind case! With this gesture, the Soviet leader considered it necessary to emphasize the importance of the Soviet-Japanese agreement. And to emphasize both the Japanese and the Germans.

Knowing that among those seeing off the German ambassador in Moscow, von Schulenburg, Stalin defiantly hugged the Japanese minister on the platform: "You are an Asian and I am an Asian ... If we are together, all the problems of Asia can be solved." Matsuoka echoed him: "The problems of the whole world can be solved."

But the military circles of Japan, unlike politicians, did not attach much importance to the Neutrality Pact. At the same hours, on April 14, 1941, in the "Secret War Diary" of the Japanese General Staff, an entry was made: "The significance of this treaty is not to ensure an armed uprising in the south. It is not a treaty and a means of avoiding war with the United States. It only gives additional time to make an independent decision to start a war against the Soviets". In the same April 1941, Minister of War Hideki Tojo spoke even more clearly: "Despite the pact, we will actively carry out military preparations against the USSR."

This is evidenced by the statement made on April 26 by the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army stationed near the borders of the USSR, General Kimur, at a meeting of formation commanders: "It is necessary, on the one hand, to strengthen and expand preparations for war with the USSR, and on the other hand, to maintain friendly relations with the USSR striving to preserve the armed peace, and at the same time to prepare for operations against the Soviet Union, which at the decisive moment will bring a certain victory to Japan.

Soviet intelligence, including its resident Richard Sorge, informed Moscow of these sentiments in a timely and objective manner. Stalin understood that the Japanese would not weaken their combat readiness on the borders with the USSR. But he believed that non-aggression pacts with Germany and neutrality with Japan would help buy time. However, these hopes were not justified.

August 29, day "X"

As early as June 22, 1941, the above-mentioned Minister of Foreign Affairs Matsuoka, having urgently arrived at Emperor Hirohito's, insistently suggested that he immediately attack the Soviet Union: "We need to start from the north, and then go south. Without entering the tiger cave, you will not pull out the tiger cub. You have to decide."

The question of the attack on the USSR in the summer of 1941 was discussed in detail at a secret meeting held on July 2 in the presence of the emperor. Chairman of the Privy Council (an advisory body to the emperor) Kado Hara said bluntly: "I believe all of you will agree that the war between Germany and the Soviet Union is indeed Japan's historical chance. Since the Soviet Union encourages the spread of communism in the world, we will be forced to sooner or too late to attack it. But since the empire is still preoccupied with the Chinese incident, we are not free to decide to attack the Soviet Union as we would like. Nevertheless, I believe that we should attack the Soviet Union at a convenient moment. .. I want us to attack the Soviet Union... Some might say that due to the Japanese Neutrality Pact, it would be unethical to attack the Soviet Union... If we attack it, no one will consider it a betrayal "I look forward to the opportunity to strike at the Soviet Union. I ask the army and government to do this as soon as possible. The Soviet Union must be destroyed."

As a result of the meeting, the Empire’s National Policy Program was adopted: “Our attitude towards the German-Soviet war will be determined in accordance with the spirit of the Tripartite Pact (Japan, Germany and Italy). However, for now we will not interfere in this conflict. We will secretly strengthen our military preparation against the Soviet Union, adhering to an independent position ... If the German-Soviet war develops in a direction favorable to the empire, we, resorting to armed force, will solve the northern problem ... "

The decision to attack the USSR - at the moment when it weakens in the fight against Nazi Germany - was called in Japan the "ripe persimmon strategy."

Help Hitler from the East

Today, Japanese propagandists and some of their supporters in our country claim that the attack did not take place because Japan honestly fulfilled the terms of the neutrality pact. In fact, the reason was the failure of the German plan for "blitzkrieg". And even official Japanese historiographers are forced to admit: "While waging a defensive war against Germany, the Soviet Union did not weaken its forces in the East, retaining a grouping equal to the Kwantung Army. Thus, the Soviet Union managed to achieve its goal - defense in the East, avoiding war ... The main factor was that the Soviet Union, having a huge territory and a large population, had become a powerful economic and military power during the years of the pre-war five-year plans.

As for the plan for the war against the USSR, it had the cipher name "Kantogun tokushu enshu", abbreviated as "Kantokuen" ("Special Maneuvers of the Kwantung Army"). And all attempts to present it as "defensive" do not stand up to criticism and are refuted by the same pro-government historians of the Land of the Rising Sun. Thus, the authors of The Official History of the War in Great East Asia (Asagumo Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense) admit: “Relations between Japan and Germany were based on a common goal - to crush the Soviet Union ... successes of the German army... Loyalty to the Tripartite Pact was understood as the desire not to concede to England and the United States, to curb their forces in East Asia, to pin down Soviet troops in the Far East and, taking advantage of the opportunity, to defeat it.

Another documentary confirmation of this is the report of the German ambassador to Japan, Eugen Ott, to his boss, Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop: “I have the pleasure to say that Japan is preparing for all sorts of accidents in relation to the USSR in order to join forces with Germany ... I I think there is hardly any need to add that the Japanese government always has in mind the expansion of military preparations, along with other measures, to achieve this goal, and also in order to tie up the forces of Soviet Russia in the Far East, which she could use in war with Germany...

The task of pinning down Soviet troops was carried out by Japan throughout the Great Patriotic War. And this was highly appreciated by the German leadership: "Russia must keep troops in Eastern Siberia in anticipation of a Russo-Japanese clash," Ribbentrop instructed the Japanese government in a telegram dated May 15, 1942. The instructions were strictly followed.

Along the meridian of Omsk

As early as January 18, 1942, anticipating a joint victory, the German, Italian and Japanese imperialists "divided" the territory of the Soviet Union among themselves. The preamble to the top secret agreement stated bluntly: “In the spirit of the Tripartite Pact of September 27, 1940, and in connection with the agreement of December 11, 1941, the armed forces of Germany and Italy, as well as the army and navy of Japan, conclude a military agreement to ensure cooperation in operations and crushing as soon as possible the military power of opponents". The zone of military operations of the armed forces of Japan was declared a part of the Asian continent to the east of 70 degrees east longitude. In other words, vast areas of Western Siberia, Transbaikalia and the Far East were subject to capture by the Japanese army.

The dividing line of the German and Japanese zones of occupation was to pass along the meridian of Omsk. And the "Program of total war of the first period. Construction of East Asia" has already been developed, in which Japan determined the areas to be captured and the natural resources explored there:

Primorsky region:

a) Vladivostok, Marinsk, Nikolaev, Petropavlovsk and other regions;

b) strategic raw materials: Tetyukhe (iron ore), Okha and Ekhabi (oil), Sovetskaya Gavan, Artem, Tavrichanka, Voroshilov (coal).

Khabarovsk region:

a) Khabarovsk, Blagoveshchensk, Rukhlovo and other regions;

b) strategic raw materials: Umarita (molybdenum ores), Kivda, Raychikhinsk, Sakhalin (coal).

Chita region:

a) Chita, Karymskaya, Rukhlovo and other districts;

b) strategic raw materials: Khalekinsk (iron ores), Darasun (lead and zinc ores), Gutai (molybdenum ores), Bukachacha, Ternovsky, Tarboga, Arbagar (coal).

Buryat-Mongolian region:

a) Ulan-Ude and other strategic points.

The "program" envisaged "to resettle the Japanese, Koreans and Manchus in the occupied regions, by carrying out the forced eviction of local residents to the north."

It is not surprising that with such plans, the Japanese ignored - we choose the mildest definition - the Neutrality Pact.

Undeclared war on land and sea

During the war years, the number of armed attacks on Soviet territory increased markedly. Units and formations of the Kwantung Army violated our land border 779 times, and aircraft of the Japanese Air Force violated our air border 433 times. Soviet territory was shelled, spies and armed gangs were thrown into it. And this was not an improvisation: the "neutrals" acted in strict accordance with the agreement of Japan, Germany and Italy of January 18, 1942. This was confirmed at the Tokyo trial by the Japanese ambassador to Germany, Oshima. He also admitted that during his stay in Berlin he systematically discussed with Himmler measures to carry out subversive activities against the USSR and its leaders.

Japanese military intelligence actively obtained espionage information for the German army. And this was also confirmed at the Tokyo trial, where Major General Matsumura (from October 1941 to August 1943, head of the Russian intelligence department of the Japanese General Staff) admitted: “I was systematically transferred to Colonel Kretschmer (military attache of the German embassy in Tokyo. - Auth. ) information about the forces of the Red Army, about the deployment of its units in the Far East, about the military potential of the USSR... For Kretschmer, I transmitted information about the withdrawal of Soviet divisions from the Far East to the West, about the movement of Red Army units within the country, about the deployment of the evacuated Soviet military industry. All this information was compiled on the basis of reports received by the Japanese General Staff from the Japanese military attache in Moscow and from other sources.

To these exhaustive testimonies, one can only add what, after the war, even the representatives of the German command recognized: data from Japan were widely used by them in military operations against the Soviet Union.

And, finally, the Japanese openly torpedoed the Neutrality Pact by launching an undeclared war against the Soviet Union at sea. Illegal detention of Soviet merchant and fishing vessels, their sinking, capture and detention of crews continued until the end of the war. According to official data submitted by the Soviet side to the Tokyo Tribunal, from June 1941 to 1945, the Japanese Navy detained 178 and sank 18 Soviet merchant ships. Japanese submarines torpedoed and sank such large Soviet ships as Angarstroy, Kola, Ilmen, Perekop, Maikop. Being unable to refute the fact of the death of these ships, some Japanese authors today make absurd statements that the ships were sunk, de ... by planes and submarines of the US Navy (?!).

Conclusion

Announcing the denunciation of the Neutrality Pact on April 5, 1945, the Soviet government had enough reason to declare: “... Since that time, the situation has changed radically. Germany attacked the USSR, and Japan, an ally of Germany, is helping the latter in its war against the USSR. In addition, Japan is at war with the United States and England, which are allies of the Soviet Union... In this situation, the neutrality pact between Japan and the USSR has lost its meaning, and the extension of this Pact has become impossible ... "

It only remains to add that the vast majority of the documents cited above were published in Japan as early as the 1960s. Alas, not all of them were made public in our country. This publication in Motherland, I hope, will give an impetus to historians, politicians, and all Russians to take a deeper interest in not so distant history, which today is becoming the object of a fierce struggle for the minds and hearts of people.

"Rodina" cordially congratulates Anatoly Arkadyevich Koshkin, our regular contributor, on his 70th birthday and looks forward to new bright articles!