Nordpolitik: Japan's New Russia Policy

Abstract

Today, for perhaps the first time in more than 200 years of interaction, neither Japan nor Russia views the other as a direct security threat. Four major issues have acted as the catalysts to bring about a warming between Tokyo and Moscow. These issues are: the rise of China as an economic and political power in the region; the perceived relative decline in the power of the United States in East Asia; the collapse of the Soviet Union and Russia's virtual disappearance as a major actor in East Asia; and Japan's need for alternative energy sources in the face of the upcoming energy crunch in Asia. Were Japan and Russia to bring about a complete normalization of relations, as seems highly possible now, the repercussions would be wide-ranging for the geopolitical situation in the Asia-Pacific region.