Japan and Russia Relations Need Resetting (China Bullying of Takaichi Admin)
Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan recently lavished praise on President Donald Trump during their high-profile meeting, even as she preserves Japan’s strategic energy links with the Russian Federation. Takaichi—Japan’s first female prime minister and a protégé of the late Shinzo Abe, who himself maintained cordial ties with President Vladimir Putin—boldly declared that a “golden age” in economic, military, and geopolitical cooperation with the United States is on the horizon.
Yet China’s increasingly confrontational stance toward the new Takaichi administration underscores an unavoidable reality: Japan must recalibrate and rebuild its relationship with the Russian Federation. Doing so would alleviate Japan’s entrenched energy vulnerability while reinforcing its broader geopolitical posture.
Indeed, the last two years have made one fact unmistakable: even the combined weight of the European Union, the G-7 (Japan included), and NATO has failed to weaken the Russian Federation militarily through support for Ukraine—or economically, given the steadfast neutrality or quiet alignment of major Global South powers, including Brazil, China, India, Saudi Arabia, and many others.
The military modernization of North Korea is accelerating, and the Russian Federation is now playing a pivotal role in strengthening Pyongyang’s capabilities. Simultaneously, the nations of Central Asia—while each pursuing its own distinct foreign policy agendas—continue to operate firmly within Moscow’s geopolitical orbit. Their reliance on Russia for security, labor markets, energy networks, and regional stability ensures that Moscow’s influence in this vast space remains undisputed.
Beyond Central Asia, Russia has also cultivated a wide lattice of cordial relations across the Asian continent. Its ties with China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and countless other states demonstrate that Moscow is not isolated but is instead deeply embedded in the strategic architecture of Asia. From energy partnerships to military cooperation and diplomatic coordination, Russia has entrenched itself as a central actor across the region.
Against this backdrop, deeper engagement between Moscow and Tokyo is not merely desirable—it is strategically logical. Given Russia’s immense natural resources, its energy export capacity, and its expanding role in shaping Asian security, closer ties offer Japan several advantages: reduced energy vulnerability, greater diplomatic leverage, and a more flexible geopolitical posture in an increasingly multipolar world.
In essence, a recalibrated Japan–Russia partnership represents a genuine win-win scenario—an alignment rooted in pragmatic interests rather than ideological constraints, and one capable of strengthening Japan’s resilience at a time of profound regional transformation.
Recent comments emanating from China, directed at the Takaichi administration, are wholly unwarranted. Several of Japan’s recent leaders have expressed similar strategic views, yet Beijing selectively amplifies its discontent now for political effect. If China finds Takaichi’s statements objectionable, the responsible path is genuine dialogue, not the deployment of cultural pressure, economic signaling, or political intimidation to corner Japan.
Japan has long sought stability in East Asia, and its leaders—across administrations—have articulated policies rooted in national security and regional balance. Singling out Takaichi while ignoring this continuity reveals less about Japan’s posture and more about China’s willingness to leverage coercive instruments to shape the behavior of its neighbors.
If Beijing is genuinely committed to regional peace, then it should engage Tokyo directly and maturely, rather than resort to tactics designed to unsettle Japan’s political landscape or influence public sentiment. Constructive diplomacy—not manufactured outrage—is the only viable path toward preventing further strategic drift in East Asia.
Overall, China would do well to examine its own conduct regarding territorial disputes across the South China Sea, where tensions persist with numerous regional nations. Likewise, Japan cannot be held responsible for the deepening rift between China and Taiwan—a dynamic shaped overwhelmingly by Beijing’s own political decisions. If China’s leadership seeks stability, it must first confront the consequences of its assertive regional posture.
That said, both China and Japan would undeniably benefit from resolving their major diplomatic differences. A stable and predictable relationship between East Asia’s two largest economies serves the interests of the entire region.
Yet regardless of how Sino–Japanese relations evolve, Japan stands to gain enormously from fostering cordial and pragmatic ties with the Russian Federation. The advantages are self-evident: reliable access to natural resources, enhanced energy security, and a strengthened geopolitical position at a time when global power structures are rapidly shifting.
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