East Asia: Facts and Analytics, 2026/2
DOI: 10.24412/2686-7702-2026-2-39-49
URL: PDF
Author
| Kazakov Oleg I. |
| Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences |
| ORCID: 0000-0002-9009-3225 |
| E-mail: kazakov_oleg@mail.ru |
Abstract
In 1956, the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration was signed and ratified, ending the state of war between the two countries and paving the way for the development of bilateral relations in all areas. A notable feature of this declaration was that it was not called a “peace treaty”, as it did not explicitly resolve the issue of territorial boundaries. After the collapse of the USSR, Point 9 of the Declaration was actively discussed as a possible solution to the territorial dispute in the context of Japan’s claims to the “Northern Territories” (the southern Kuril Islands), which the Soviet Union annexed following World War II. After the start of Russia’s special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine in 2022, Russian–Japanese relations deteriorated due to the countries’ differing political positions on the conflict. However, as neighboring states, Russia and Japan need to normalize relations in the future, which provides grounds for re-analyzing the pros and cons of the Declaration of 1956 in the context of restoring bilateral ties after the end of the SMO and the lifting of sanctions.
Keywords
USSR, Russia, Japan, history, Declaration of 1956, special military operation, safety, normalization of relations
Support
The research was carried out within the state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (project No. FMSF-2024-0016 “Japan in the Asia-Pacific region: politics, security, economics”).
Acknowledgments
–
For citation
Kazakov O.I. (2026). K 70-letiyu Sovmestnoy deklaratsii SSSR i Yaponii 1956 goda [On the 70th anniversary of the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956]. Vostochnaya Aziya: fakty i analitika [East Asia: Facts and Analytics], 8 (2): 39–49. (In Russian). DOI 10.24412/2686-7702-2026-2-39-49
References
Gorchakova T.E., Kazakov O.I. (2020). Ob izmenenii situatsii v Yaponii i rossiysko-yaponskikh otnosheniyakh v 2020 godu [On the changes of the situation in Japan and the Russian-Japanese relations in 2020]. Vostochnaya Aziya: fakty i analitika [East Asia: Facts and Analytics], 4: 49–62. (In Russian). DOI 10.24411/2686-7702-2020-10024
Gorchakova T.E., Kazakov O.I. (2021). K voprosu o vliyanii COVID-19 na situatsiyu v Yaponii i rossiysko-yaponskiye otnosheniya (2020 g. – pervaya polovina 2021 g.) [On the question of the impact of COVID-19 on the situation in Japan and Russian-Japanese relations (2020 – first half of 2021)]. Vostochnaya Aziya: fakty i analitika [East Asia: Facts and Analytics], 2: 66–77. (In Russian). DOI 10.24412/2686-7702-2021-2-66-77
Kazakov O.I. (2001). K 45-letiyu Sovmestnoy sovetsko-yaponskoy deklaratsii 1956 goda [On the 45th anniversary of the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration 1956]. Informatsionno-analiticheskiy byulleten’ Deputatskoy gruppy Gosudarstvennoy Dumy III sozyva po svyazyam s parlamentom Yaponii [The Information and Analytical Bulletin of the Deputy Group of the State Duma of the 3rd Convocation for Relations with the Parliament of Japan], 13. URL: https://proza.ru/2007/02/23-45 (accessed: Mar 7, 2026). (In Russian).
Kazakov O.I. (2011). K 55-letiyu podpisaniya Sovmestnoy deklaratsii SSSR i Yaponii 1956 goda [On the 55th anniversary of the signing of the Joint Declaration of the USSR and Japan in 1956]. In: Istoriya i kul’tura traditsionnoy Yaponii [History and Culture of Traditional Japan], Issue XXXIX, ed. by I.S. Smirnov: 430–442. Moscow: Natalis. (In Russian). ISBN 987-5-7281-1137-5, ISBN 978-5-0862-0342-8
Kazakov O.I. (2017). K 60-letiyu Sovmestnoy deklaratsii SSSR i Yaponii 1956 goda [On the 60th anniversary of the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956]. Yaponskiye issledovaniya [Japanese Studies in Russia], 1: 75–89. (In Russian). DOI 10.24411/2500-2872-2017-00006
Kazakov O.I. (2024). O gumanitarnom sotrudnichestve Rossii i Yaponii na fone SVO [On the peculiarities of humanitarian cooperation between Russia and Japan against the backdrop of the Special military operation]. Vostochnaya Aziya: fakty i analitika [East Asia: Facts and Analytics], 1: 85–96. (In Russian). DOI 10.24412/2686-7702-2024-1-85-96
Kimura H. (1996). Kuril’skaya problema: Istoriya yapono-rossiyskikh peregovorov po pogranichnym voprosam [The Kuril issue: the Hhistory of Japanese-Russian border negotiations]. Kiyev: Yurinkom. (In Russian).
Panov A.N. (2019). Sovetsko-yaponskaya Sovmestnaya deklaratsiya 1956 goda: slozhnyy put’ k podpisaniyu, nelëgkaya sud’ba posle ratifikatsii [The Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956: a difficult path to signing, a hard destiny after the ratification]. Yaponskiye issledovaniya [Japanese Studies in Russia], 2: 63–94. (In Russian). DOI 10.24411/2500-2872-2019-10012
Vekhi na puti k zaklyucheniyu mirnogo dogovora mezhdu Yaponiyey i Rossiyey. 88 voprosov ot grazhdan Rossii [Milestones on the Path to a Peace Treaty between Japan and Russia: 88 Questions from Russian citizens] (2000). Moscow: Materik. (In Russian).
Yeryomin V.N. (2001). Sovetsko-yaponskaya sovmestnaya deklaratsiya 1956 goda: fundamental’na, khotya ne bez slabostey [The Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration 1956: fundamental, though not without weaknesses]. Informatsionno-analiticheskiy byulleten’ Deputatskoy gruppy Gosudarstvennoy Dumy III sozyva po svyazyam s parlamentom Yaponii [The Information and Analytical Bulletin of the Deputy Group of the State Duma of the 3rd Convocation for Relations with the Parliament of Japan], 5: 17–21. URL: https://proza.ru/2007/02/26-372 (accessed: Mar 7, 2026). (In Russian).
Dates
| Received Date: | May 7, 2026 |
| Accepted Date: | May 26, 2026 |
| Publication Date: | Jul 1, 2026 |
International License: CC BY 4.0