In the mid-to-late century, The control of the four northern islands was firmly locked in the hands of the Soviet Union. After many negotiations between Japan and the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union put forward a condition that as long as Japan agrees, half of the four northern islands will be given to Japan, but Japan never dared to agree.
One condition
The four northern islands are also known as South Kuril Islands , located in northern Japan, and are a narrow and elongated archipelago composed of four islands.
After in World War II, the world pattern changed, and many controversial territories were re-divided, and the four northern islands were given to the Soviet Union.
But Japan, who knows the strategic significance of the four northern islands, is not willing to do so. He negotiated with the Soviet Union many times and wanted to retrieve the four northern islands in a peaceful way.
The Soviet Union had no intention of letting go. No matter how good things Japan said, the Soviet Union refused to give up the four northern islands.
Because the four northern islands were equally important to the Soviet Union.
First of all, the four northern islands are important sea channel . Unlike other sea channel, the channel here is completely controlled by the Soviet Union and has extremely high strategic value.
You should know that other Soviet seaports basically border other countries. Once the relationship between the two countries breaks down, it is very likely to restrict Soviet ship transportation.
The existence of the four northern islands allowed the Soviet Union to freely enter and exit the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk .
Secondly, the four northern islands are an important part of restraining Japan. It is like putting a "tight curse" on Japan. If Japan does anything illegal, the Soviet Union can strike against Japan on the four northern islands.
What’s more important is that the four northern islands have massive natural resources, with 1.6 billion tons of proven oil alone, more than 10 million tons of gold, nearly 100 million tons of silver, etc., and countless other mineral resources.
An island with such a high strategic value naturally attracted the "kindness" of the United States to intervene in .
After the war, Japan's economy collapsed. In order to allow the country to develop, Japan had to accept the "aid" from the United States.
A few years later, Japan became the "little brother" of the United States. The United States naturally intervened in various affairs of Japan and stationed US troops in Japan.
After repeatedly hitting walls on the four northern islands, Japan had to ask the United States for help, hoping to help it get back to the four northern islands through the United States' international prestige.
At that time, the United States and the Soviet Union were in the Cold War . Seeing the United States intervened, the Soviet Union became even more angry and said that Japan would never be able to get back the four islands of the north .
As the only major country that could compete with the United States at that time, the Soviet Union was full of confidence in saying this.
Later, the United States stationed a large number of troops in Japan, and the Soviet Union felt threatened, so it planned to return the smallest 金常日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日本日�
But Japan does not recognize this "mosquito leg" at all, and she is still behaved when she gets the cheaper, threatening to return all the islands of the four northern islands.
The Soviet Union also broke down on the negotiations, and the agreement that was originally to be signed was also shelved.
In 1960, Japan and the United States signed the "New Japan-US Security Treaty", which clearly stated that the United States can lay out military weapons in Japan in case of "emergency demand".
Here we can see that it doesn’t matter whether the four northern islands can be taken back. The key is to win over Japan, deploy military weapons on Japan’s territory, and to restrain the Soviet Union .
In order to crush the US's intention, the Soviet Union put forward a condition to Japan, and if Japan agrees, it will return half of the four northern islands to Japan.
This condition is to withdraw all foreign troops in Japan and all foreign military deployments in Japan.
When the Japanese heard this, they were so scared that they did not dare to agree. The Soviet Union said that this condition will be valid for a long time. If Japan has ideas, it can contact the Soviet Union at any time.
Japan has never dared to agree to
On the surface, the Soviet Union's request seems to be harmful to Japan without any benefit. After all, it is natural to withdraw foreign troops from the local area and can still take back its own territory.
However, the Japanese dare not, because the so-called foreign troops naturally refer to the US military. Letting the US military withdraw from Japan and accept the islands returned by the Soviet Union, is tantamount to saying to the United States, "I won't be your little brother, I want to join the Soviet camp."
At that time, Japan's economic development basically relies on the United States, and its economic lifeline was also controlled by the United States. Once it broke apart, Japan's economy would be in chaos .
So, how dare Japan agree to the Soviet Union’s request?
Seeing that Japan was timid, the Soviet Union said that as long as it agrees to its own conditions, the problems of the other islands can also be resolved through negotiation.
Japanese side did not dare to respond.
Later, Japan rarely mentioned the four northern islands. Until , the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and the ownership of the four northern islands belonged to the Soviet Union.
subsequent development
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the four northern islands were under the control of Russia. In 2004, Japan and Russia discussed the ownership of the four northern islands.
However, in any case, Russia only intends to return the Hebamai Islands and Schkotan Islands, which combined account for only 7% of the four northern islands.
Japan naturally refused, and something later made the dispute between the four northern islands exacerbate again.
In 2006, a Japanese fishing boat accidentally entered the four northern islands. The Russian cruiser fired a gun to warn , but accidentally hit the fisherman in the head, causing him to die on the spot.
Public opinion in Japan broke out instantly, and the Japanese government also took advantage of the public opinion to amend the bill, which clearly stated that "the northern territory is our inherent territory."
This triggered a game between Russia and Japan.
Putin took office as president of Russia, not only did he not relax his control over the four northern islands, but instead increased military investment in the four northern islands every year, making Japan's capture of the four northern islands far away.
However, Putin still gave Japan a way out. In a public occasion, Putin said, "If Russia and Japan can trust each other highly, they may be able to find some solution in it." The potential meaning of the sentence
is actually consistent with the Soviet Union's request for Japan.
Because, Russia stands on the opposite side of the United States. If you want to establish good relations with Russia, you have to break with the United States . This is a difficult choice for Japan.
History's wheel rolls forward, but there are always some coincidences that allow us to see history repeat itself. Japan's competition for the four northern islands will not end there. If Japan does not make a choice, there may never be a result.
