Evening star., 1944-11-11
Russia. and japan

Inough still normal in a strictly
technical sense, relations between
Moscow and Tokyo have clearly
passed into what might be called
the deterioration stage, that not
unprecedented diplomatic period
during which GOODNESS tends to
harden into iciness and iciness into
complete and explosive breaks. As
was to be expected, Premier Stalin's
significant remark last Monday
about Japan's "aggressive" charac-
ter has brought a quick though
unofficial response from the Koiso
government which has let it be
known, through the Domei news
agency, that the japanese people
are surprised and offended"
With sort of nervous indigna-
ton, Japan translates Stalin's "ag-
gressive" into "aggressor" and goes
on from there to say that the use of
the word may have sensational"
implications. Of course, observes
Domei, keeping its fingers crossed
and its tongue in its cheek, there is
not bit of evidence" of anything
abnormal, but nevertheless, since
Moscow'S foreign policy lis not
wholly immutable," it will probably
change 'as new situations demand"
and the japanese must accordingly
be ready to make realistic" adjust
ments to any further developments.
All of which is another way of say
ing that the Koiso government is
very much afraid that the neutrality
of mutual convenience between the
two countries may be nearing an
end and that the Soviet Union.
closely allied with Britain and
America against Hitler, may be pre-
pairing to extend it's collaboration
with us to the Far East.
1t would be unwise, to be sure, to
read too much into the situation
at this time, but the possibility
that Russia will cooperate with us
against Japan is real enough to,
warrant consideration in any specu-
lation regarding the duration of the
war after the defeat of Germany.
There are at least two reasons why
1t is not altogether wishful to think
that the Stain government may be
seriously weighing the idea of a
fundamental change of policy in
this respect. The first of these is
that there are old scores to be
settled with the Tokyo war lords as
result of the bloody and indecisive
actions fought along the Siberian
frontier in the late 193Os. The Sec
ond is that if world security organ
ization Is established before our Far
Eastern enemy is liquidated, the
Soviet Union, as one of the major
members, will be committed to the
Idea of joint international action
against aggressors and may choose
to make its commitment retroactive
by joining China, Britain and the
United States against Hirohito's
empire.
In the circumstance, it is easy to
see why the Japanese feel that there
may be "sensa tional" implications
In Premier Stalin's use of the word
aggressive" Beyond that, they
realize that they and the Russians
are historic enemies and that the
neutrality pact concluded between
them in the spring of 1941 has been
little more than a kind of mutually
advantageous truce whose durability
has been doubtful from the start.
Perhaps the Moscow-Tokyo rela-
tions will grow no worse than they
are, but current signs make it at
least conceivable that they will con-
tinue to deteriorate to the breaking
point-in which case, it need hardly
be added, the war in the vast Pa
cific-Asiatic theater would undergo
a profoundly important and pro-
foundly cheering change of face.