Japan hits Russia with more sanctions over Ukraine.

[undertaker-89]

Russia is big Energy market for Japan, not the biggest one by any means, but still important.

Kurils would be tactical goal, making sure Russia at least does not interfere in with possible future disputes between Japan and China would be strategic one.

 

[Aepsilons]

Russia is a major supplier of NG to Japan, but we are also securing other markets in Papau New Guinea. Our dependability on Russia will significantly reduce as we diversify our portfolio.

Papua New Guinea Begins LNG Exports | The Diplomat

Japan Steps Up Interest in Papua New Guinea’s Gas Riches - MoneyBeat - WSJ

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2014/s4010197.htm

 

[Superboy]

Russia and Japan are rivals just as China and Japan are rivals. Being rivals doesn't mean no trade. As a matter of fact, China and the US are the biggest rivals on the planet and they trade with each other, well, mostly a one way trade.

 

[Aepsilons]

Do Japan and Russia even trade?

Graph 1: Structure of Bilateral Trade

Graph 2: Volume and Trend of Bilateral Trade



Reference:

Retrieved from: MOFA: Japan-Russia Economic Relations

Russia and Japan are rivals just as China and Japan are rivals. Being rivals doesn't mean no trade. As a matter of fact, China and the US are the biggest rivals on the planet and they trade with each other, well, mostly a one way trade.

Our trade with Russia is minimal, to be honest. The worth of bilateral trade is at around $23 Billion.They are a minor energy supplier, and not a threat because Japan has a diversified consortium of energy partners.

To use comparative quantitative statistical analysis, the worth of annual trade between Russia and Japan is 1/13th the size of the bilateral trade between Japan and China, which stands at $320 Billion. Russia is a minor trading partner of Japan's. Our major trading partners include: The United States, China, Taiwan, ASEAN, European Union.

 

[mike2000]

View attachment 92064
Graph 1: Structure of Bilateral Trade


View attachment 92065
Graph 2: Volume and Trend of Bilateral Trade



Reference:

Retrieved from: MOFA: Japan-Russia Economic Relations



Our trade with Russia is minimal, to be honest. The worth of bilateral trade is at around $23 Billion.They are a minor energy supplier, and not a threat because Japan has a diversified consortium of energy partners.

To use comparative quantitative statistical analysis, the worth of annual trade between Russia and Japan is 1/13th the size of the bilateral trade between Japan and China, which stands at $320 Billion. Russia is a minor trading partner of Japan's. Our major trading partners include: The United States, China, Taiwan, ASEAN, European Union.

Well said, Russia -Japan's trade is indeed negligable. The reason for this is because Russia has nothing much to offer Japan apart from its mineral resources as we can see in your diagram above. This is one of the reasons I say Japan has basically nothing to lose by rightfully sanctioning Russia and strengthening it's alliance with the U. S/west. What can Russia possibly do to Japan? Nothing. Lol
Japan also has lots of sources from where it can source its oil/gas apart from Russia. Moreover Japan pays for its oil/gas imports, it's not as if Russia offers it free to them. Lol. Also, it's not like Russia will ever give back the Japanese islands it seized during the end of world war II irrespective of the sanctions Japan imposed on it. reason why they won't sign any peace treaty anytime soon.

So Russia has basically no leverage over Japan tbh. It can only try and negotiate with Japan so the sanctions won't be too severe.

That's why I said earlier that economic strength today is more important than military strength, and it will be even more so in the coming decades. In this regard had Russia been a huge/large economic power, then it will have been unthinkable for us and Japan to impose sanctions on it, due to inter independence. But Russia thinks military strength is still more important than economic one. Reason she overspends/focus on its military ignoring other critical sectors in its economy. At least the U. S can afford to do so, since it is backed by a strong and sound economic and technological sector /companies with global interests and Allies.

It's indeed not strange to see Russia -Japan trade being 1/13th that of China -Japan trade. Even south Korean -Japan trade is way bigger than that of Russia.

 

[Tshering22]

Man! Abe-san is really making this balancing thing very difficult for us Indians!

Why should Japan sanction Russia when USA sitting in North America has sanctioned Russia sitting between two continents over a country that Russians themselves originated from in East Europe (Ukraine)?

What has Japan got to do with it?

@Nihonjin1051 brother, comments?

I feel that the Japanese would benefit the best if you strengthen ties with Russians at this junction.

 

[mike2000]

Man! Abe-san is really making this balancing thing very difficult for us Indians!

Why should Japan sanction Russia when USA sitting in North America has sanctioned Russia sitting between two continents over a country that Russians themselves originated from in East Europe (Ukraine)?

What has Japan got to do with it?

@Nihonjin1051 brother, comments?

I feel that the Japanese would benefit the best if you strengthen ties with Russians at this junction.

Lool I know most you Indians here still favor your patron Russia, due to the so called 'support' the now defunct 'U. S. S. R' gave you during the cold war as you were allied with the U. S. S. R against U. S. A,Europe and Japan. So i can understand your unconditional support for Putin's Russia even when he's wrong.
However, Japan is a different case. Japan has never depended on Russian for anything, I repeat anything. Japan is firmly in the western /U. S camp and that won't change anytime soon, as it serves Japan interests for now. So why should Japan bend backwards to accommodate Russia? Lol. Russia as I said ealier, doesn't offer Japan anything, I don't think it ever will. The U. S has offered Japan way more than any country can ever. So No, Japan doesn't need to balance /strengthen any ties with Russia, when someone like Putin is acting aggressively against its neighbours, hasn't signed a peace treaty with Japan since the end of the second world war, still holds Japan's islands it took a TV the end of the war, keeps carrying out military drills /sending bombers close to Japanese coast and islands its controls etc.

So Japan has rightly calculated that trying to cozy up with Russia's Putin doesn't bring it any good nor does it offer any hope of receiving back its islands. So in that case Japan has nothing to lose in rightly sanctioning Russia for its actions in Ukraine.

What do you think Russia can do to Japan? Lol. Nothing. They barely trade with each other and Russia has no leverage over Japan at all. So you can keep supporting your patron Russia despite its actions which has been criticized by many countries, but don't confuse India's position with Japan, Japan is way more independent technologically, financially, economically etc. So Japan doesn't need any Soviet weapons /arms, tech transfer from Russia (in fact it can even transfer some to Russia. ), it has way better from the U. S and its own. So i understand India's position, since it's still very much dependent on big brother Russia. So it can't take any hostile stand against it. despite that, things might change as time goes by, and the U. S -India economic, military, financial relationship keeps increasing, maybe after it reaches a certainty level (the U. S is already India's largest arms supplier, overtaking Russia ), then India too might see that their interests lies more with the U. S /west than Russia.
After all, there are no permanent friends in politics only permanent interets.

 

[Superboy]

Japan is a small country of only 377,000 square kilometers. Who cares what Japan does

 

[Tshering22]

Lool I know most you Indians here still favor your patron Russia, due to the so called 'support' the now defunct 'U. S. S. R' gave you during the cold war as you were allied with the U. S. S. R against U. S. A,Europe and Japan. So i can understand your unconditional support for Putin's Russia even when he's wrong.
However, Japan is a different case. Japan has never depended on Russian for anything, I repeat anything. Japan is firmly in the western /U. S camp and that won't change anytime soon, as it serves Japan interests for now. So why should Japan bend backwards to accommodate Russia? Lol. Russia as I said ealier, doesn't offer Japan anything, I don't think it ever will. The U. S has offered Japan way more than any country can ever. So No, Japan doesn't need to balance /strengthen any ties with Russia, when someone like Putin is acting aggressively against its neighbours, hasn't signed a peace treaty with Japan since the end of the second world war, still holds Japan's islands it took a TV the end of the war, keeps carrying out military drills /sending bombers close to Japanese coast and islands its controls etc.

So Japan has rightly calculated that trying to cozy up with Russia's Putin doesn't bring it any good nor does it offer any hope of receiving back its islands. So in that case Japan has nothing to lose in rightly sanctioning Russia for its actions in Ukraine.

What do you think Russia can do to Japan? Lol. Nothing. They barely trade with each other and Russia has no leverage over Japan at all. So you can keep supporting your patron Russia despite its actions which has been criticized by many countries, but don't confuse India's position with Japan, Japan is way more independent technologically, financially, economically etc. So Japan doesn't need any Soviet weapons /arms, tech transfer from Russia (in fact it can even transfer some to Russia. ), it has way better from the U. S and its own. So i understand India's position, since it's still very much dependent on big brother Russia. So it can't take any hostile stand against it. despite that, things might change as time goes by, and the U. S -India economic, military, financial relationship keeps increasing, maybe after it reaches a certainty level (the U. S is already India's largest arms supplier, overtaking Russia ), then India too might see that their interests lies more with the U. S /west than Russia.
After all, there are no permanent friends in politics only permanent interets.

I admire the pm of Japan Mr. Abe. He has taken lot of bold initiatives to reduce dependence on USA for everything. From WW2, we all knew how Japan was forced to join camp or be destroyed.

Japanese are proud and strong people. Circumstances made them change and weaken for sometime.

As for not depending on anyone, that's not possible in globalised world. Japan is intelligent and high tech but lacks natural resources that Russia has in abundance.

I am merely pointing out the slow progress made even under Abe-san for moving away from another sphere of influence and make their own.

If you're expecting Japan to be subservient to NATO/Allies forever, I feel bad for your gross miscalculation.

 

[mike2000]

I admire the pm of Japan Mr. Abe. He has taken lot of bold initiatives to reduce dependence on USA for everything. From WW2, we all knew how Japan was forced to join camp or be destroyed.

Japanese are proud and strong people. Circumstances made them change and weaken for sometime.

As for not depending on anyone, that's not possible in globalised world. Japan is intelligent and high tech but lacks natural resources that Russia has in abundance.

I am merely pointing out the slow progress made even under Abe-san for moving away from another sphere of influence and make their own.

If you're expecting Japan to be subservient to NATO/Allies forever, I feel bad for your gross miscalculation.

I said it several times, yes Japan lacks Natural resources, But it more than compensate with it for its high tech industries/companies and industrial production which dwarfs Russia, India etc by far. In fact it seems being blessed with too much natural resources tends to be a curse than a blessing(for some countries, even wealthy/developed Australia still relies heavily on its natural resources which has affected other sectors of its economy, thus leaving it vulnerable to volatility in prices ). Just look at how Russia relies too much on its oil/Gas than on other more productive sectors like Electronics/Manufacturing etc. Japan doesnt have much natural resources but its wayyyyy more wealthier and productive than countries with natural resources like Russia, India , Brazil and even China. So talk of so called lack of natural resources isn't all that critical nor does it determine if a country is wealthy or not. Knowledge is power as they say. Human resource is more important than Natural resource bro. Just look at several natural resource rich countries in Africa, Middle east, south America etc, are they wealthier than Japan? lool Nope.

Moreover, Japan can buy oil/ Gas etc from many other sources not just Russia, There are sevral other countries who have natural resources as well. As for as you got cash/Capital that isn't a problem,and Japan has it all. So as i said before, Russia has absolutely ZERO leverage over Japan. Its relations with Japan are dependent upon the Japanese government, not Russia..
Japan isn't really subservient to NATO/allies per say. Even if it is, it is because Japan sees that remaining an ally of the U.S serves its interests more than being an ally of authoritarian countries like China and Russia who have nothing much to offer Japan(huh....ok i confess at least China has a vast market for Japanese goods/products, but Russia has even more less or nothing.lol). So why should Japan change its alliance if it has nothing much to benefit from those two?

If only you knew how the U.S has been accomodating Japan since the end of the second world war, then youn wouldnt be saying such things. I even red on one article/thread on here(cant remember which 1) how the U.S has been allowed(even favouring) Japanese products access to its market even though Japan has been restricting U.S products/automobiles/electronics etc into its own market. Surprisingly, i will even say China has been even more open to the U.S than Japan, believe me . Reason why you will hardly ever see a western/U.S product dominating the Japanese market(its not because all Japanese goods are better than that of the U.S).
Plus the U.S offers Japan many latest high tech military weapons/Tech transfer which other countries like India can only dream of, This is wihtout taking into consideration the protection the U.S has offered Japan for over 5 decades now, which helped Japan focused on its economy avoiding spending recklessly on its military like Russia, India, Vietnam etc had to do. So this was of great help to Japan as well, since it gave it time to focus on its economy and leave military protection to the U.S(not many countries have that luxury). There are so many other things i can go on and on about how the U.S has been helpful to Japan since the second world war. This is something my friend Nihonji can expantiate on for you.

Moreover , i dont get your point about Japanese sanctions complicating India's balancing act. What do you mean by this?lol
With all due respect, India for now doesn't even have a clearly defined foreign policy, nor does it know where its priority lies or which type of country/power it wants to be in future. You are still not a major power to be honest(well for now, maybe in a decade or two you might start getting to that level), so i don't get it why you say Japans actions will make things more difficult for you, You are the last country Japan even have in mind when it concerns its dealings with Russia. Its mainly a U.S , China and Japan triangle. So don't see why you think India has any say/effect on this.

 

[mike2000]

Japan is a small country of only 377,000 square kilometers. Who cares what Japan does

Yes Japan might be small geographically, but its an economic/technological Giant. Size is not all that matters in life. Human skill/knowledge is way more important bro. If not how do you explain that my country which is even smaller in population than Japan(less than half) with similar landsize, was able to colonize half the whole world, India(a country of over a billion), take hong kong from China, colonize much of Asia(Malaysia,Singapore,Burma, Australia,) even the U.S, Canada and the list goes on and on.....
So Size isn;t always everything. In fact China with a population of a billion plus people, about 9 times Japans population and more than 10 times its land mass, with huge natural resources still has barely just twice Japans GDP.. This shows just how unproductive/ Inefficient China is(though its also due to the Maos CCP past folly.lol). So if anything China should have at least 5 times Japans GDP to even be considered a little bit up to its potential. Its for this reason i believe China will overtake the U,S in coming decades economically. Not because of the communist party brillance, skill or whatever, but because when you start from such a low base down(and have at least a little bit decent government who allows its citizens to trade freely and just gives a helping hand) then the only direction is up and up..... Im sure with a different government(say KMT). China will be doing even better.

 

[Superboy]

was able to colonize half the whole world

Not really. Britain never got any part of China except the island of Hong Kong. Britain never got a foothold in Europe. Sure, Britain colonized large parts of Africa, India, North America, Oceania, but hey, who couldn't at the time?

Yes Japan might be small geographically, but its an economic/technological Giant. Size is not all that matters in life.

That's not what Japanese think. If size isn't that important, Japan wouldn't have martyred more than a million soldiers during WW2 trying to gain lebensraum in China

 

[AgentOrange]

Japan just waved bye bye to its "Northern Territories" forever. All because Uncle Sam ordered them to act against their own interests. Once again.

 

[liontk]

Why are people surprised? Japan is part of west and our interests are not with russia and Crimea is a clear proof of that. Instead of getting involved with the mess in middle east, we should seriously deal with russia's aggression and have them accountable for their actions.

@flamer84, are our recent round of sanctions having any affect on Russia from an eastern european perspective?

 

[gau8av]

Japan are yet to grow a pair back since they got nuked