Стр. 32 - V

Author : A. Ilyshev-Vvedensky
Head of the Japanese Division, Third Asian Department Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian
Federation
THE HISTORY of Russian-Japanese relations is over 300 years
old. There have been dramatic pages in it, as well as positive
pages, attesting to friendship, trust, and genuine neighborliness
between the Russian and Japanese peoples. This was evidenced,
among other things, by the rescue of the Japanese merchant Mu-
rayama Dembei off the Kamchatka coast and his meeting with
Peter the Great in the village of Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow
in 1702; the cordial reception of Soza and Goza, who founded
the first Japanese language school in Russia 30 years later in St.
Petersburg; and the outstanding mission of Vice Admiral Yevfimy
Putyatin to Japan in 1853-1855. In the course of this mission,
Russian sailors heroically helped the residents of the Japanese city
of Shimoda during a major earthquake, and when, as a result of that disaster, their ship Diana
sank they built an eponymous schooner together with the Japanese from the town of Heda,
teaching them European shipbuilding technology in the process.
This brings to mind, among other things, the amazing story of St. Nicholas of Japan, whose
Orthodox Cathedral is among the main sights in Tokyo, and his associate, Japanese artist R. Ya-
mashita (the icon she painted, which was presented to Nicholas II, was first displayed during the
opening ceremony of the recent Festival of Russian Culture in Japan in June this year), as well
as the saving of Japanese children from a polio epidemic with the vaccine provided to Japan by
the USSR in the 1960s.
In October, there is reason to recall another event that came as a high point in post-war relations
with Japan. This refers to the landmark visit to Moscow by Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Ha-
toyama from October 12-20, 1956.
In the course of the visit, a document was signed - a document that up to now remains a legal
basis for current Russian-Japanese relations: the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of October
19, 1956.
Putting aside the political aspect and relevance of the declaration, I would like to consider its
historic significance, as the document's potential for trust has been and will remain the most
valuable asset in the process of building a genuine partnership between Russia and Japan.
The Japanese prime minister arrived at the Vnukovo airport on October 12 and immediately
stated that he intended to do his best to ensure "a positive decision on the issue of normalizing
relations."
Электронное приложение к журналу «Международная жизнь»
Nine Days in One Year: The 60th Anniversary of Yukio Ha-
toyama's Visit to Moscow and the Signing of the Soviet-Japanese
Joint Declaration