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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Tokyo Demands Russia Remove Statue Commemorating Victory Over Japan

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Ongoing story
  • Japan’s prime minister asked Russia to remove a statue showing a Soviet soldier destroying a stone bearing the chrysanthemum emblem of Japan’s Imperial House.
  • Sanae Takaichi said the monument hurt the feelings of the Japanese people and that her government had requested its removal.
  • The dispute follows worsening bilateral tensions over Russia’s war in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin’s visit to islands Japan calls the Northern Territories.

Japan has demanded that Russia remove a newly unveiled statue depicting the destruction of the chrysanthemum emblem, a symbol of Japan’s Imperial House.

The monument, inaugurated on Friday, shows a Soviet soldier destroying a stone block marked with the emblem. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the installation “totally unacceptable” in a post on X and said it hurt the feelings of the Japanese people. She added that her government had asked Russia to take it down.

The emblem of the chrysanthemum is widely recognized as a symbol of Japan, and installing a monument that depicts its destruction is totally unacceptable.

· Sanae TakaichiJapan’s prime minister criticized the newly unveiled Russian statue in a post on X.

The dispute came three days after Japanese authorities rejected comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin that blamed Tokyo for the deterioration in bilateral relations. Government spokesman Minoru Kihara said the current difficulties stemmed from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, making any attempt to place responsibility on Japan unacceptable.

Relations had already deteriorated in early August, when Putin made his first visit since taking power in 2000 to what Japan calls the Northern Territories. The islands are known as Kunashiri, Etorofu, Shikotan and Habomai in Japan’s account. Takaichi described that visit as absolutely unacceptable, and both Moscow and Tokyo summoned each other’s ambassadors in protest.

The difficult current situation in bilateral relations is due to Russian aggression against Ukraine, so any statement that seeks to attribute responsibility to the Japanese side is unacceptable.

· Minoru KiharaJapan’s government spokesman responded to Vladimir Putin’s comments about the state of relations.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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