From: miklg@acuson.com (Michael Goldman )
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: The Northern Islands
Date: 6 Oct 92 14:12:24 GMT
Organization: Acuson; Mountain View, California

hiraga@Csli.Stanford.EDU (Yuzuru Hiraga) writes:

I wrote
>>	Possession is the reality.  Legalisms can be debated endlessly
>>	but if Japan wants the islands back, arguing on what was or
>>	wasn't included in treaties won't do it.

>Hmm... I hope you're not advocating for sheer power politics (or are you?).
>If possession is the reality, then weaker nations are completely at the
>mercy of stronger ones with no means for claiming their rights.

	I'm not advocating sheer power politics - I see it as the current
	condition of the world.  Only world public opinion and domestic
	public opinion currently serve as moral restraints, and not
	very effective ones.  If there were a rule of law, this wouldn't
	have arisen to begin with.

	The people in the Russian Army who want a return to the old ways
	are not nice people.  They miss the dear old days when the Red
	Army occupied countries and was feared around the world.  The
	only thing that keeps them in check is lack of public support for
	a coup (and being able to sell guns to yakuza for money).  If
	the public loses confidence in the reforms, they might give
	the reactionaries support, and we'd have another fine mess.
	Those who miss the old Russian empire are saying that Russia
	has gone from being proud and respected (feared) to giving
	away "Russian" lands for money.  This is an (erroneous)
	nationalistic appeal which over time will diminish if there
	is no public action by other countries which might feed it.

	Russia will get its money from the other members of the
	G7, but it would be nice if Japan would act like the world
	leader it seems to wish to be considered as and not feed excuses
	to Russian reactionaries.  Once the reforms take hold, and people
	see an improvement, or even a chance for improvement, the
	reactionaries in Russia can be ignored, and the islands can be
	discussed more rationally.  The Economist seemed to think that
	Russia has a good enough case that it might even win in the
	World Court.  Regardless, there's a time for everything, and
	now is not the time to press Russia over the islands.

>(And does this "debated endlessly" mean between you and me, or Japan and
>Russia?)

	Either or both.

>And, may I ask, are you, in your opinion, granting any legitimacy to
>Japan's claim? 

	To tell the truth, I really don't care enough to have an
	opinion.  I'm just frustrated that the single most positive
	improvement in the world situation in 100 years (the
	democratization of the ex-USSR) is not being helped due to
	limited vision of a country that would like to be viewed
	(and should be) as more than the maker of Nintendo and Toyotas.

	Nothing personal.  I assume you personally have as much
	say in Japanese Foreign Policy as I do in US F. P. - i.e.,
	essentially none at all.

	- Michael Goldman

-- 
"History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have
exhausted all other alternatives." - Abba Eban
	Disclaimer:  All views are solely my own & not the views of Acuson.
	<sun!sono!miklg>  or  [miklg@acuson.com]