ABSTRACT
The general situation in Northeast Asia is changing, and a new dynamism is appearing in the security (and other) policies of Japan and the Soviet Union. This chapter sketches out the setting of Soviet-Japanese security relations, in historical, domestic, and international dimensions. It examines the resulting policy issues that comprise the nub of attitudes and policies in Moscow and Tokyo. The first current policy question is the Northern Islands issues. This issue has remained perhaps the most significant stumbling block between Tokyo and Moscow since 1945, when the Russians occupied the four islands of Kunashiri, Etorofu, Shikotan, and Habomai, off northeast Hokkaido. The Northern Islands question in recent years has also been linked with the second policy issue: How should the Japanese respond to the Soviet military buildup in Northeast Asia? The third policy issue, if it can be called that, between Tokyo and Moscow is the recent Soviet diplomatic initiative in Asia and the “proper” Japanese response.
