Northern Territories and Beyond: Russian, Japanese, and American Perspectives

by James E Goodby, Vladimir I. Ivanov, Nobuo Shimotomai

Overview

In this edited collection diplomats, academic researchers, and jourbanalists survey modern Russian-Japanese relations. An attempt is made to go back to the origins of the conflict in their relations, to analyze their current status, and to propose an agenda for the future. The authors argue that the problems Moscow and Tokyo inherited from the decades of the Cold War cannot be resolved through a narrow bilateral approach and will require constructure U.S. participation. The problem of the Northern Territories is examined in the context of the North Pacific regional security environment. The authors explore the prospects for cooperative regional engagement, a nuclear build-down in the North Pacific, and possible involvement of the UN in the resolution of the territorial dispute.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union raised hopes for a rapid improvement of Japanese-Russian relations. This is important to both global and regional stability, peace, and security in Northeast Asia, and to Russia's transition to new relations with the West. Both Russia and Japan are in the process of domestic change and have weak political leadership. Yeltsin's visit to Tokyo in October 1993 was a cause for relief and for hope as the two nations discussed their common concerns. However, the Northern Territories remains a serious obstacle to improved relations. In this book an attempt is made to go back to the origins of the conflict in Japan-Russia relations, to discuss their current status, and to propose an agenda for the future.

There was a broad consensus among the diplomats, academic researchers, political analysts, and jourbanalists whose writings are part of this collection. First, the problems Moscow and Tokyo inherited from the decades of Cold War cannot be resolved through a narrow bilateral approach and will require constructive U.S. participation. Second, the interconnection between bilateral, regional, and global trends created a new context for Moscow-Tokyo dialogue and cooperation. Third, the problem of the Northern Territories cannot be separated from the realities of the North Pacific regional security environment, which is still under the residual influence of the Cold War. The authors explore the prospects for cooperative regional engagement, a nuclear build-down in the North Pacific, and possible involvement of the UN in the resolution of the territorial dispute. Among the problems that require immediate attention, the writers focus on defense conversion, and dismantlement and disposing of nuclear weapons, and prospects for trilateral partnership that will serve the purpose of multilateral cooperation in the North Pacific/Northeast Asian region.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275950934
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/30/1995
Series:	Interdisciplinary Contributions to
Pages:	408
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.94(d)
Lexile:	1570L (what's this?)

About the Author

JAMES E. GOODBY is Professor at Carnegie Mellon University and a Jennings Randolph Distinguished Fellow, the United States Institute of Peace.

VLADIMIR I. IVANOV is with the Institute of World Economics and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.

NOBUO SHIMOTOMAI is Professor at Hosei University, Tokyo.

Table of Contents

Preface by James E. Goodby, Vladimir I. Ivanov, and Nobuo Shimotomai
Introduction by Vladimir I. Ivanov
History of the Territorial Dispute to 1986
The Northern Territories/South Kuril Islands Dispute by Saburo Okita and Minoru Takahashi
A Diplomatic History of the Dispute by Raymond Garthoff
From Stalin to Brezhnev by Alexander N. Panov
Problems of the Neutrality Period by Matthew J. Ouimet
On the Historiographical Frontier by John J. Stephan
Japanese Perceptions of Russia by Hiroshi Kimura
Russian Perceptions of Japan by Semiyon I. Verbitskii
Rethinking the Relationship, 1986-1993
From Gorbachev to Yeltsin by Alexander Panov
Shintaro Abe's "Creative Diplomacy" by Junjiro Isomura
The Debate Before the Summit by Herbert J. Ellison
Continuing Stalemate by Tsuyoshi Hasegawa
Japan's Russia Policy and October 1993 Summit by Nobuo Shimotomai
Overcoming the Psychological Impasse by Konstantin O. Sarkisov
Beyond the Cold War
The Territorial Dispute in the Post-Cold War International Context by Robert A. Scalapino
An Age of Upheaval by Donald C. Hellmann
Paths to Resolution of the Territorial Dispute by Vasili I. Saplin
Natural Resources of the Disputed Area by Mark J. Valencia and Noel A. Ludwig
Environment and History by Peter J. Poole
Russian Economic Reforms and Japan by Ivan Tselitschev
How Japan Should Deal with Russia by Motohide Saito
Towards New Era of Russian-Japanese Relations by Susumu Takahashi
Regional Security and the Future of the Trilateral Relationship
New Opportunities for Russian-Japanese Normalization by Vladimir P. Lukin
New Priorities for Asia-Pacific Security by Sheila A. Smith
Regional Security Context by Atsushi Shimokobe
Naval and Other Forces in the Northwest Pacific by James L. George
Japan, Russia, and Nuclear Nonproliferation by Takehiko Kamo
Russia and the United States-Japan Partnership by Vladimir I. Ivanov
Nuclear Disarmament, Nuclear Energy, and Defense Conversion by Takeshi Kondo
Cooperative Security in Northeast Asia by James E. Goodby
Chronology of Events, 1986-1994 by Robert Valliant
Bibliography by Frederick A. Williams

Editorial Reviews

Essays on the territorial disputes over islands in the Sea of Okhotsk analyze the Northern Territories conflict in a broad historic and political context, discussing the origins of the conflict in Russian- Japanese relations, its current status, and elements of a possible future common agenda. They consider US involvement, the START-2 agreement and the North Pacific regional security environment, the cancellation of Boris Yeltsin's visit to Japan in September 1992, and the July 1993 G7 summit meeting in Tokyo. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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