The relationship with neighboring Russia, which is currently being talked about. Nowadays, there is a border on the sea, but after the Russo-Japanese War, there was a time when the border was bordered by Sakhalin.
Russia's predecessor, Communist Soviet Union There were many aspects of Japan that did not agree with each other ideologically, but until the Meiji era, there was a time when mutual interests were in agreement and a neutral treaty was signed.
Today, we often see the Northern Territories issue [ Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty ] I would like to write about.
What is the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty?
Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty Is 1941 It refers to the neutrality treaty signed between Japan and the Soviet Union.
Its contents do not attack each other [ non-aggressive ] And it was included to protect neutrality when one side went to war with a third country. The period was to be extended by another 5 years if there was no offer of either one 1 year before the expiration of 5 years.
After explaining with Zackri, why was the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty signed this time?
Reason for the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty
It seems that there were several reasons for the situation in which the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty was signed.
World situation before the conclusion of the treaty
Great Depression in 1929 The world was divided into three groups.
- We have abundant resources in our own countries and colonies such as the United States, Great Britain, and France [Capitalist camp]
- Japan, Germany, Italy and other colonies and resources are scarce, and they have aggressively launched foreign expansion [ totalitarian camp ]
- Unaffected by the Great Depression by a planned economy like the Soviet Union [Communist camp]
The problem here is the overseas expansion by Japan and Germany.
It begins to clash to deprive Britain and France, who already had a stake in colonial rule. In fact, Japan is Manchurian Incident And Sino-Japanese War We have advanced to mainland China, and our relations with the United States and the United Kingdom have deteriorated.
The approach between Japan and the Soviet Union
Japan, which has become globally isolated, will deepen its ties with Germany in order to compete with the United States and Great Britain. With this flow, it was concluded ...
Tripartite Pact of Japan, Germany and Italy is.
Hirohiro Matsuoka , who was the Foreign Minister in the Konoe Cabinet at that time Japan-Germany-Iso-Shikoku Alliance including the Soviet Union after the conclusion of the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty It seems that he planned to develop it into.
In short, I tried to compose capitalist VS totalitarian &socialist.
* The Tripartite Pact of Japan, Germany and Italy will write in detail on another occasion.
Returning to Japan and the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union initially Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty Although he was reluctant to conclude a treaty, he received information that Germany would proceed to the Soviet Union and decided to conclude a neutral treaty with Japan.
At this point, Japan was drawing a Quadruple Alliance plan Has collapsed, but the interests of Japan and the Soviet Union are aligned, April 13, 1941 The Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty was signed and passed in Moscow.
Contents of the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty
Under the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty, territorial integrity between Japan and the Soviet Union And mutual inviolability Arranged to maintain neutrality when engaging with a third country, and the period was set to 5 years.
In the case of a military alliance, it is necessary to cooperate in the case of a war, but in the case of a neutral treaty, there is no obligation to cooperate. And, depending on the interpretation of neutrality, I got various things such as financial assistance that is not related to the use of force.
The Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty did not define neutrality.
Situation of each country after the conclusion of the treaty
From the end of the Edo period to the prewar period, Japan had two ways of thinking about expanding overseas.
Japan's expansion to the south
Northern advance Or Southern advance There was a choice of.
The northern advance will confront the Soviet Union. The southern expansion will collide with the Southeast Asian colonies of Britain and the United States. In Japan, the Army advocated a northward advance and the Navy advocated a southward advance, but the conclusion of the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty decided to advance to the south.
In addition, it is said that the abundance of resources such as oil in the south is the motive for expanding into the south.
In this way, Japan began to advance into southern Vietnam, which made the confrontation with the United States decisive and headed for the Pacific War.
Quadruple Alliance concept
Earlier Japan-Germany-Iso-Shikoku Alliance I mentioned a little about this, but this idea was based on the premise that Germany and the Soviet Union, who were friends with dogs and monkeys, are on good terms. If this alliance could be realized, I thought I would suppress the United States and strengthen Japan's position in the East Asian region, but as Germany began to advance to the Soviet Union, this concept could not be realized.
In fact, at the time of the German invasion operation, there was a politician who tried to abandon the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty and switch to the northward progress. That was Yosuke Matsuoka who was looking for the Quadruple Alliance. It was the person himself. However, there was no politician in the cabinet at that time, and Matsuoka became isolated.
Soviet Union succeeds in defending Moscow under the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty
1939 Soviet Union and Germany German-Soviet Non-Aggression Treaty However, in 1941 Germany abandoned the treaty and invaded the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union, which had a shortage of quasi-parts, was invaded to the capital, Moscow, but thanks to the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty, it was able to protect Moscow.
This defeat in Germany triggered the collapse of Nazi Germany.
Abolition of the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty and Soviet Union's participation in the war against Japan
In February 1945, a meeting was held between the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union in Yalta, the Soviet Union.
Yalta Conference
At this meeting, [Soviet Union's participation in Japan] was included in preparation for the full-scale invasion of the United States into Japan. At that time, Japan and the Soviet Union were not in a state of war, but they tried to drag the Soviet Union into the war in order to reduce the damage to the United States.
In return for the invitation of the United States, the Soviet Union Kuril Islands Requested. This was the beginning of the Northern Territories issue, which has not been resolved to this day.
After the Yalta Conference, the Soviet Union informed Japan in April that it would not extend the treaty.
In this way, the Soviet Union, a socialist country, and the United States, a capitalist country, joined hands to end World War II, but after the war, the two countries created a confrontational structure called the Cold War. Let's introduce it separately.
Japan asks the Soviet Union to mediate peace ...
March 10, 1945 Tokyo Sky There is an attack, and the Japanese government also begins to seek peace.
However, the countries in the war have lost the contact point for discussions, so they have to mediate to some country.
That was the Soviet Union.
By this time, the talks at the Yalta Conference had already been settled, so the Soviet Union took a laid-back approach to save time. Therefore, only time passed in vain.
Soviet Union participates in Japan
After the surrender of Germany in May 1945, the Soviet Union declared the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty abolished and declared war on Japan in August, Manchuria, the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, and the Kuril Islands . Invaded. The Japanese army, which had been exhausted by repeated attacks on the American mainland, will fight well in various places, but will be defeated.
It seems that the Soviet army intended to invade Hokkaido, which could be prevented by the Japanese army's deadly battle.
In this way, by abolishing the Soviet Union and the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty, its role will end.
Acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration and the end of the war ...
A week after the battle with the Soviet Union began, the Government of Japan announced that it would accept the Potsdam Declaration and unconditionally surrendered, ending World War II.
The reason for Japan's unconditional surrender was the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but the Soviet Union's declaration of war on Japan was one of the major deciding factors.