Newspapers Hokkaido Shimbun, The Yomiuri Shimbun news portal Yahoo News Japan, TV channels Hokkaido UHB News and TBS reported on the beginning of the exercises on the islands of the South Kuril Ridge.
All the media cited the official statement of the Russian Defense Ministry about the maneuvers, which spoke about the planned nature of the exercises and that they were warned in advance. Readers left it without attention, many decided that the maneuvers were preparation for an attack on the Land of the Rising Sun, reacted emotionally and urged to act ahead of the curve, says NTV.
"Russia is clearly preparing for war with us. So let's get ready for war with her!»
"What is the return of the "northern territories"? Isn't this all about Russian plans to seize Hokkaido?»
"Well, has it started again? These are all provocations against Hokkaido! The authorities already need to think about what we should do if the Russians launch an armada of unmanned tanks and drones on Hokkaido."
"Russia should not be allowed to take such actions! We need to stifle it economically: restrict its exports, put pressure on it with high import duties, and so on."
"During the last war, the Soviet Union seized the "northern islands" as its springboard against Japan. And he will never return it to Japan! Russia is now preparing an invasion of Japan with it!»
"What is lost as a result of the war can only be recovered by war! There is no need to entertain the illusion that we can agree on something with Russia. We also need to conduct military maneuvers in the immediate vicinity of it, to have a deterrent effect on the Russians."
"The scary thing is that the "northern islands", lying next to us, are turning into a powerful Russian bastion! Negotiations with Russia may need to continue. But it will be much more effective if we send a lot of agents to the Russian Federation who will seek its disintegration from within."
More than a thousand people and about 300 units of special and military equipment are involved in the military exercises on anti-amphibious defense, which the Russian military is conducting on the Kuril Islands.
Russia has no territorial claims to Japan, but the absence of a peace treaty, not concluded after the Second World War, overshadows relations between Moscow and Tokyo. The signing of the document is hindered by the question of the ownership of the Southern Kurils (Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai Ridge). They are claimed by Japan, pointing to the bilateral Treaty on Trade and Borders of 1855.
Russia considers these territories its own, since these lands became part of the USSR after the war. The USSR and Japan signed a joint declaration in 1956, where Moscow, after concluding a peace treaty, agreed to discuss the transfer of Shikotan and Habomai, but further dialogue did not lead to anything.
