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Russia–Japan Cooperation in Eurasia: Working Paper 43/2018 / [V.V S SUMMER SCHOOLS EXPERT COMMENTARIES S GUEST LECTURES CENARIOS T S S TABLE NTERNATIONAL RELATIONS C I S NALYSIS AND FORECASTING FOREIGN POLICY ISCUSSIONS A T D C REFERENCE BOOKS DIALOGUE ETWORK SCIENCE WORKING PAPERS DUCATION N PROJE OUND E REPORTS NALYSIS AND FORECASTING URITY R A S ATION C C PROJE E ORGANIZATION OMPETITIONS C NTERNATIONAL ACTIVITY CONFERENCES DU E I S S S FOREIGN POLICY TALENT POOL CS S EDUCATION POOL POLITI EPORTS OUND TABLES ION R R ENARIO GLOBAL POLITICS ETWORK C NTERNATIONAL I N IVIL OCIETY INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS S C S LOBAL RELATION G TALENT SS EFERENCE BOOKS NTERNATIONAL Y R I RUSSIANY RUSSIAN Y S C S ORGANIZATIONS DUCATION C E E INTERNATIONAL U SECURITY C RELATION SUMMER C AFFAIRS COUNCIL POLI SCHOOLS IALOGUE IETY D TING ONAL OUND I R GUEST LECTURES C SC O S TABLES I TY IGRATION EPORTS I R S A V ARTNERSHIP OREIGN P I NTERNATIONAL IBRARY OADMAPS XPERT R F E I S ONFEREN IPLOMA D M C L URITY GLOBAL NTERNAT MIGRATION COMMENTARIES IVIL C I ACT S ILATERAL NTHOLOGIE C POOL D SCIENCE C REPORTS I BOOK E ISCUSSIONS INTERNSHIPS B A D IPLOMA E WEBSITE PARTNERSHIP INTERNSHIPS S S Y C TALENT C DIALOGUE GLOBAL NTHOLOGIESGLOBAL Y A C S D POLI FORE SCIENCE CONFERENCES POLI Y S C ITE EFEREN S S NALYSISSCIENCE IGRATION A IBRARY OADMAP EB ENARIO OREIGN R IPLOMA C F R L M OREIGN D S W NALY AND FORECASTING F S DIALOGUE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS A AND S NETWORK INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS E CLUB MEETINGS DIALOGUE DIPLOMACY PROJECTS HOOL S S C IALOGUE S T D C URITY UMMER ITE E S HIP C S OMMENTARIE TURE IVIL OCIETY C S C S EBSITE E C W C WORKING PAPER HIP EB S PROJE IGRATION LE S SC S EXPERT COMMENTARIES OREIGN POLICY F IEN T W M RELATION S XPERT IPLOMACY E D UE S EDUCATION NESS G ARTNER ETWORK SC NTERN S ANALYSIS AND I E I N P IBRARY FORECASTING C URITY L ONFEREN CIVIL SOCIETY C E S IEN RUSSIA–JAPAN COOPERATION S C NTHOLOGIES S S A GLOBAL POLITICS C RUSSIA AND THE WEST: THE NEW NORMAL S ILATERAL CLUB MEETINGS S COMPETITIONS HIP B US IN EURASIA HIP S ROUND TABLES S EPORT S ROADMAPS WORKING PAPERS E IGRATION PAPER RUSSIAN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL (RIAC) ANALYSIS AND FORECASTING E C R B CENARIOS 1, B. Yakimanka street, 119180, Moscow, Russia ARTNERSHIP S C P LOBAL S REFERENCE BOOKS S Tel.: +7 (495) 225 6283 OMPETITION IBRARY ORKING L IEN ARTNER M NTERN S S G Fax: +7 (495) 225 6284 C I W IBRARY S XPERT COMMENTARIES P OMMENTARIE E L ION SC E–mail: [email protected] C 32 43/ 2016 / 2018 www.russiancouncil.ru SS INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION S S U S ORGANIZATION REFERENCE BOOKS EDUCATION IETY SC C ISCUSSIONS I LOBAL D OADMAP SUMMER SCHOOLS XPERT OMPETITION UEST LECTURES IVIL O G ILATERAL HOOL NTERNATIONAL RELATIONS I E S C R C D G MEETING E ANTHOLOGIES B RELATION WORKING PAPERS C NTHOLOGIE UMMER ONFEREN LOBAL POLITICS IEN G LUB C NTERNATIONAL S SC C S I A FOREIGN POLICY TALENT POOL REFERENCE BOOKS C Cover_WP-32.indd 1 12.12.2016 18:01:14 RUSSIAN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL MOSCOW 2018 Russian International Affairs Council Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief: I.S. Ivanov, RAS Corresponding Member, Dr. of History Authors: V.V. Nelidov; K. Kobayashi Copy editors: I.N. Timofeev, Ph.D. in Political Science; T.A. Makhmutov, Ph.D. in Political Science; K.A. Kuzmina; A.N. Larionova Nelidov, V.V.; Kobayashi, K. Russia–Japan Cooperation in Eurasia: Working Paper 43/2018 / [V.V. Nelidov, K. Kobayashi] ; [I.S. Iva- nov, Editor-in-Chief] ; Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC). – Moscow: NPMP RIAC, 2018. – 32 pages. – Authors and editors are listed on the reverse of the title page. ISBN 978-5-6040388-7-1 The working paper presents a detailed discussion of Russia and Japan's approaches to multilateral cooperation in Eurasia, and includes an analysis of the possibility of Japan’s involvement in the Eurasian initiatives. In the conclusion a list of practical proposals to facilitate Russian-Japanese cooperation in Eurasia is presented. The paper is based on the analysis of official plans and documents, speeches and statements of key decision- makers, as well as publications prepared by prominent intellectual platforms of Russia and Japan. Russian International Affairs Council thanks Prof. Dmitry Streltsov and Prof. Oleg Paramonov for their сontributions to the working paper. The views and opinions of the author expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the RIAC. The full text of the working paper is available on RIAC’s website. You can download it or leave a comment via this direct link – russiancouncil.ru/en/paper43 © Drafting, translation and design. NPMP RIAC, 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 4 Eurasian Integration from the Russian Perspective 7 Eurasian Integration from the Japanese Perspective 13 Eurasian Security Cooperation, Japan and the SCO 14 Eurasian Economic Cooperation, Japan and the EAEU 17 Prospects for Regional Synergy: Goals and Practical Steps 20 Internal and External Challenges and Opportunities 24 Conclusions and Recommendations 27 About the Authors 29 NELIDOV V.V., KOBAYASHI K. RUSSIA–JAPAN COOPERATION IN EURASIA Introduction Since the 2000s, the Eurasian and Asian Pacific regions have increasingly come to embrace a multitude of regional institutional initiatives, including the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the upcoming Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Despite the fact that Russia plays a leading role in two of these organizations (i.e., EAEU and SCO), much part of analysis on Russian-Japanese relations to date has almost exclusively focused on the bilateral aspect and has neglected the possibility of multilateral engagement, namely, the prospect for Japan’s involvement in Eurasian regional initiatives. The idea of promoting Japan’s regional involvement in Eurasia was devised in the late 1990s with the concept of Yurasia Gaikou (Eurasian Diplomacy) put forth in July 1997 by Ryutaro Hashimoto, Prime Minister at the time, who strongly advocated for a “Pacific approach” to Eurasia which envisioned embedding Russian-Japanese relations into wider regional institutional and multilateral arrangements.1 As Hashimoto emphasized, Japan’s deeper engagement with Eurasian regional initiatives could make a significant contribution to the development of the Eurasian-Pacific community stretching from Eastern Europe (Russia, Belarus, etc.) to the Pacific (Korea, Japan, etc.), possibly coordinating with other major players such as China and India. This initiative, however, did not result in any concrete result because Tokyo’s post-1945 foreign policy has historically exhibited a weak regional orientation. As Sergey Chugrov argues, “The Japanese have never felt the need to classify their country as a part of Asia; for centuries, they were convinced that they could ‘ignore’ Asia.”2 In the imperial era, Japan’s westernizers actively advocated Datsua Nyuou – a political slogan that Japan should “exit” from the “uncivilized” space of underdeveloped Asian nations and “enter” the club of “civilized” European states. During the World War II, Japan reversed this course and sought a more active regional foreign policy, leading to the declaration of Daitoua Kyoueiken (Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere). This regional doctrine claimed that Japan bore a special responsibility to protect its fellow Asian nations from “white imperialists” and promote an equitable regional order based on the principles of racial equality and mutual respect. With Japan’s unconditional surrender to the Allied Forces and the subsequent American occupation, Tokyo’s post-war foreign policy since 1945 has hence naturally suppressed its claim to regional leadership, resulting in a heavily bilateral foreign policy orientation which has to date emphasized the asymmetrical patron-client relationship embedded in the Japan–U.S. Security Treaty. 1 Performances Taken Pace during the Roundtable Conference of Members of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives // Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet’s official website, July 24, 1997. URL: http://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/hasimotosouri/speech/1997/0725soridouyu.html (in Japanese) 2 The Image of Russia in Japan and the Image of Japan in Russia: Working Paper 33/2017 / [S.V. Chugrov]; [I.S. Ivanov, Editor-in-Chief]; Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC). Moscow: NPMP RIAC, 2017. 64 p. 4 Working Paper 43 / 2018 INTRODUCTION In this vein, the concept of “Eurasia” remains largely alien to Japanese elites and society, but Tokyo also generally lacks any kind of regional foreign policy. While Japanese policymakers often talk about strengthening Japan’s engagement in the Asian Pacific region, what they often mean is to strengthen bilateral relations between Japan and the United States or develop a bilateral network of Japan- friendly neighbors. Perhaps the most salient case in this regard is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, which was originally sought as an instrument to strengthen economic ties with the United States. While Japanese elites and the wider public certainly do not see themselves as a part of the Eurasian region at the moment, many Japanese simply do not see themselves belonging to any region, including Asia.3 Meanwhile, multilateral cooperation in Eurasia emerged as a key priority in contemporary Russian foreign policy, although the concept of “Eurasian integration” itself is relatively new. It was only in 1994 when the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev became the first high-ranked politician to use the term.4 However, for Russia, the idea of unifying the vast, multicultural space of Eurasia is anything but new, as centuries of expansion of the Russian state to the east and to the south helped to establish linguistic, cultural, economic, and social ties that were further strengthened in the Imperial and Soviet periods.
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