Suchergebnisse

Krutskikh and Streltsov offer a detailed overview of the issues arising from the application of international law to the digital environment. An active debate on these issues is taking place in various international forums, particularly at the UN, reflecting attempts by States to find an international legal 'panacea' against threats in the information space. They aim not so much to suggest specific recipes, but to systematize the progress of international discussion. Adapted from the source document.

The article analyzes new moments in Japan's national security policy introduced by the documents which have been adopted by the Japanese cabinet in December 2022 — National Security Strategy, National Defense Program Guidelines and Medium Term Defense Program. The main attention is paid to the depiction of the external security environment, and above all to the assessment of China and Russia as the countries of greatest concern from the point of view of security policy. Noting that the documents do not use the term "threat" in China's assessment, the author concludes that Japan takes a more cautious position than the United States, trying not to be drawn into a confrontation between superpowers. As for Russia, the greatest alarmism is expressed not in relation to its policy as such, but in relation to its potential blocking with China on an anti—Japanese basis — the main "nightmare" for Tokyo.
The article considers the issue of the "counter-offensive" missile potential provided for by the new strategy, which would allow Japan to strike at the enemy from a remote distance in the event of a direct threat to its security. The acquisition of such a potential has become particularly relevant for Japan in connection with the development of missile technologies of neighboring "hostile" countries — the DPRK and the PRC, as well as the general progress of missile weapons in the world, including the hypersonic ones. As part of the new approach, it is planned to create an integrated air and missile defense system that combines the capabilities of intercepting enemy missiles and counterattacking on strategic and military enemy targets.

An important change in the security policy will also be the acute increase in defense spending declared by the documents under review. The biggest problem lies in the unresolved issue of the financial sources of the defense budget, which must ensure the implementation of the adopted strategy.

The article analyzes long-term external and internal factors determining the course of development of Russian-Japanese relations in 2019-2020. On the one hand, the anti-Russian component in Tokyo's foreign policy is shaped by its membership in the Security Treaty with the United States and its solidarity with the sanctions policy of the Group of Seven towards Russia. On the other hand, Japan and Russia are both interested interest in political cooperation in creating multilateral dialog mechanisms of international security in East Asia, resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, and easing tensions around territorial disputes in the East China and South China seas. Among the economic factors, the author focuses on the significant place of Russia in the context of Japan's task of diversifying sources of external energy supplies, as well as on Russia's desire to avoid unilateral dependence on the Chinese market while reorienting the system of foreign economic relations from the West to the East. Personal diplomacy of political leaders plays a significant role in relations between Russia and Japan, and, above all, close personal relationships and frequent meetings between Prime Minister Abe and President Putin, which make it possible to partially compensate the unfavorable image of the partner country in the public opinion of both Russia and Japan. Against the background of a deadlock in the Peace Treaty talks which emerged in 2019, the search for a way out of the diplomatic impasse is on the agenda. In the author's opinion, it would be appropriate at the first stage to proceed to the conclusion of a basic agreement on the basis bilateral relations, which would be "untied" from the Peace Treaty. In addition, Russia could stop criticizing Japan for its security policy and show greater understanding of the Japanese initiative in the field of quality infrastructure. In turn, Japan could take a number of strategic decisions on cooperation with Russia and announce them in the Prime Minister's keynote speech. In addition, Tokyo could stop positioning the issue of the peace Treaty as the main issue in relations with Russia, which would allow our countries to "untie" bilateral relations from the problem of border demarcation and focus on their positive agenda.

Against the background of political chilling between Russia and Japan trade and economic cooperation objectively form a basis for a positive development of bilateral relations in the foreseeable future. The structure of mutual trade has not changed significantly for a number of years. Russia plays the role as a pivotal supplier of certain raw materials for the Japanese market, namely energy resources, non-ferrous metals, seafood and timber. From Japan Russia imports mainly passenger cars and a certain amount of industrial equipment. With regard to investment relations between Russia and Japan, there exists a serious structural problem - the two economies are interdependent from the point of view of the technological division of labor. Russia, particularly its Eastern regions, not possessing sufficient infrastructure and logistics capabilities, as well as cheap labor resources, does not have any competitive advantages for Japanese investment compared to other countries like China. The potential of Russia is mostly viewed in Japan just as an energy donor. Thus the largest prospects of investment cooperation lie in the energy sphere. One can talk of the possibility for raising Russia's share in the Japanese oil and LNG markets. This perspective is supported by the instability of the political situation in the Middle East, which is Japan's main partner for energy supplies. In this connection, large-scale investment projects in the energy field, like the construction of gas pipeline "Sakhalin - Japan" or a power bridge "Sakhalin - Hokkaido", retain their perceptiveness. However, given the political, juridical, organizational, technical and other problems, these projects are difficult for implementation at the present stage. In this situation, the allocation of a certain share for Japan in the strategic energy deposits of Siberia and the Far East and the admission of Japanese capital to the exploration and development of these deposits seem to be a realistic choice for Russian strategic planning towards Japan, as such a cooperation would not be a subject of Western sanctions against Russia. For Russia it is important to build with Japan relationship on a more long-term and lasting basis. One of the possible ways here is to conclude a bilateral economic partnership agreement.

The author makes an attempt to classify the political manifestations of social protest in postwar Japanese history. The author identifies five types of politically orchestrated social protest: ideological, socio-class, problem centered, conservative and local. The specificity of concrete forms of protest is analyzed from the points of view of their substance and organization. After the end of the cold war the ideological type of social protest which had earlier played the role of the ideological basis for the consolidation of the left opposition political forces, loses its initial driving force. The aggravating crisis of the traditional corporate model decreases the significance of the social-class protest which had been an instrument of pressure over state power in favor of an active policy in the social sphere/ Also diminishing in the present-day Japan is the conservative protest as a public dissent against the ruling party caused by weakening of its ability to take into acount the interests of specific social minorities that had traditionally been prioritized by state support. Meanwhile the problem-centered and local types of protest are gaining more importance in today's Japan as they rely on a relatively broad social support. For the opposition parties social protest is nothing more than an opportunity to attract additional votes. Lacking any real chance of coming to power, these parties use mass protest mood for the consolidation of their electoral base. Many voters, disillusioned with the ability of political parties to extrapolate their opinion on the sphere of public policy decision-making, become more and more inclined not to come to the polls at all.

The Department for the "administration of affairs with Asian nations" at College of Foreign Affairs was established on February 26, 1796 by the imperial decree and the school for Chinese, Manchu, Persian and Turkish languages translators was opened one year later. However, special training of the Russian diplomatic corps, dealing with the relations with Asian nations, was established only in the XIX century. In 1815 Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages was founded. In 1823 Training Department of Oriental Languages at the Asian Department of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Empire was established. The tradition was continued by the Soviet Russian Institute of Oriental Studies, which become a leading center for the training of specialists, necessary for most important public institutions and social organizations. Moscow Institute for Oriental Studies inherited traditions and rich library from Lazarev Institute. At the confluence of MGIMO and Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies in 1954 the library holdings were transferred to the MGIMO, they now form the basis of the rare fund of the university research library. Development of Oriental School MGIMO historically was influenced by the specifics of the traditional conglomerate of Oriental Sciences and ever increasing needs in the practical application of knowledge about the East. Of course, in addition to the Lazarev Institute other leading centers of domestic study of the East made a considerable impact on the development of Oriental Studies at MGIMO. St. Petersburg (Leningrad) University and the University of Kazan are the most prominent ones, where the Oriental Studies tradition is rooted in the XIX century. Evacuation of many prominent representatives of the Moscow and Leningrad school of Oriental Studies during the Great Patriotic War to Kazan and Central Asia gave new impetus to oriental studies at universities in these regions.

The article deals with the qualitative changes that have taken place in the course of Japan in the field of military security in December 2012 after the rise of the second Abe Cabinet. These changes include tightening of the policy towards China, stronger defense policy coordination with the countries concerned with the growth of Beijing's military ambitions, as well as the revision of the basic strategy of defense capacity-building.A special place in Tokyo's new policy was taken by the moves aimed at revising the Constitution. Constitutional reform is seen in Tokyo as a sort of milestone marking the end of the postwar Japanese history when Japan held the position of the "junior partner" of the United States. However, even within the framework of the Constitution the Abe Cabinet strives to achieve a full legitimization of the self-defense forces' missions outside Japan, formally to maintain peace and security, but essentially to meet the requirements of the Security Treaty.The author concludes that the future policy of Japan in the field of military security will be to a large extent determined by the situation around the territorial dispute with China. Apparently, the Chinese ships' patrolling of the areas around the Senkaku will become a routine practice, and Japan will have to if you do not accept, but at least to get used to a permanent Chinese presence in the disputed waters. Thus, the question is how to establish bilateral mechanisms of preventing escalation of tension to the stage of an armed conflict.Key words: Japan, the Constitution, the National Security Council, the restrictions on the export of arms, the right of collective self-defense, territorial dispute, the UN Convention on the law of the sea, the Shangri-La dialogue.

The article examines recent trends in the development of the US-Japan political and defense alliance, including the sphere of operational planning and coordination. A special attention is drawn to the problem of interaction between the two countries in the area of Ballistic Missile Defense, the problem of procurement American fighters F-35, as well as the issue of relocation of the Futemma base in Okinawa. The author reviews the results of the recent US-Japan Summit, held in Washington on April 30, 2012.

.