ABSTRACT
Soviet concern about Japan has been strengthened since 1975 when the Sino-Japanese rapprochement came to the surface. A staff member of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union warned in a 1976 book on collective security in Asia that a US-China-Japan "alliance" would unavoidably lead to instability and conflict. The basic purposes of Soviet strategy toward Japan were made clear by a set of Soviet post-war diplomatic documents. The increased Soviet military power can also be utilized as an instrument of political pressure on Japan. The Soviet Union has also tried to recruit Hokkaido fishermen to gather information for the USSR on Japanese forces in the area. By closing eyes to selected encroachments into Soviet-controlled fishing areas, the USSR has succeeded in converting many Japanese fishermen into a pro-Soviet political forced.
