Commentary
Dmitri Trenin
{
"authors": [
"Dmitri Trenin"
],
"type": "commentary",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"North America",
"United States",
"East Asia",
"China",
"Japan",
"Russia"
],
"topics": [
"Foreign Policy"
]
}
Source: Getty
Commentary
Will Japan and Russia Escape the New Cold War?
Strong Japanese-Russian relations are economically beneficial and a strategic counterbalance against China’s influence. But the Ukraine crisis and Japan’s U.S. loyalties could have damaging effects.
Published on Apr 21, 2014
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was visiting Beijing last week, it was announced that the visit to Moscow by Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida was being postponed. The announcement, of course, came amid the rising tensions in Ukraine and the continuing fundamental deterioration of the West's relations with Russia. Japan, after all, is a loyal ally of the United States.
Yet, both Tokyo and Moscow have gone to some lengths to limit the damage. The joint announcement was couched in most polite phrases. The Russian foreign ministry spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich, allowed no criticism in his public comments on the postponement decision. Clearly, with the threats of economic sanctions against Russia still on the table in Washington and in EU capitals, even after the recent Geneva agreement on Ukraine, Moscow looks to Tokyo to make up for the likely losses in Europe and North America.
Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, for his part, has not yet given up on Russia. As a geopolitical thinker, he needs Russia in an effort to balance China's rise. As a pragmatist, he thinks of going beyond simply importing energy from Russia, and seeks a stake in Russia's energy projects. As a strategist, he does not want Moscow to step up too much the technological level of its arms transfers to China's People’s Liberation Army, by delivering, in particular, the S-400 air defense systems. Ideally, Abe would also want to become the prime minister to finally resolve the almost 70-year-old territorial issue between Tokyo and Moscow.
None of this is going to be easy, but none of this is totally impossible either—provided the Japanese do their part by becoming what Germany, until recently, has been to Russia: a major technological partner, a leading investor, and a gateway to the wider region. Doing this will be exceedingly difficult, of course, in the current environment of intensifying U.S.-Russian rivalry. However, Abe may have a few useful arguments to offer to President Barack Obama when he comes to Tokyo soon.
Why should the U.S.-Russian rivalry be allowed to strengthen Beijing? Who benefits when the United States is less comfortable and Japan feels less safe? In this new cold period in Russian-Western relations, there are already a few protected areas of collaboration, like nonproliferation. Why not a vibrant Japan-Russia link too? After all, wasn't it the one missing piece, even a strategic oversight in the original U.S. "pivot to Asia" concept?
About the Author
Dmitri Trenin
Former Director, Carnegie Moscow Center
Trenin was director of the Carnegie Moscow Center from 2008 to early 2022.
- Mapping Russia’s New Approach to the Post-Soviet Space
- What a Week of Talks Between Russia and the West RevealedCommentary
Dmitri Trenin
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
- Animal Tested by Leonid Bershidsky: A Utopian Novel for the Instagram AgeCommentary
Blurring the line between humans and animals is a long-standing tradition in social utopian prose. In his latest novel, Leonid Bershidsky reminds us that in social experiments, people are often treated no differently than animals.
Alexander Baunov
- Russia and the West Want Different Things From Telegram’s DurovCommentary
While France and Australia are seeking to establish the legal obligations of messaging apps like Telegram, Russia wants total subordination.
Maria Kolomychenko
- Russia’s Orthodox Church Rewrites Rules for Venerating Saints to Help the KremlinCommentary
The recent uncovering of Dmitry Donskoy’s relics in the Cathedral of the Archangel is yet another attempt by the Russian Orthodox Church to help the state solve its problems. However, parroting the state’s version of Russian history leaves the Church with no message except “patriotism.”
Alexander Zanemonets
- As It Turns 25, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Reflects the New World OrderCommentary
With the growth in points of friction between the great powers, organizations like the SCO will continue to play a role in the strategic adaptation of the smaller powers caught between them.
Temur Umarov
- How the Kremlin Turned Tech Whiz-Kid VK Into a Loss-Making State CorporationCommentary
The war in Ukraine and a change in ownership led VK to neglect its commercial ventures in favor of implementing the Kremlin’s online agenda. Now it’s been sanctioned by the EU.
Maria Kolomychenko
