stein 6-7). Disputes over Sakhalin and the Kurile Islands remain to this day, and the shift in power from the Soviet Union to a new Russia has not changed that argument. An examination of Japanese defense policy toward the Soviet Union first and Russia currently shows the nature of the dispute and the way Japan has approached these issues.
The Soviet Union held sway for some 70 years before the different regions held together largely by military might disintegrated in 1989, leaving a large portion of what had been the Soviet Union as Russia. No one is certain what will happen with the newly independent Russian states or with Russia itself. Russia could simply disintegrate over the next few years, and this remains a distinct possibility given the degree of change that has to be wrought in the economy to make it strong enough to enter the international marketplace and compete with more fully developed capitalist nations. This does not seem a very likely scenario because the U.S. and countries of Western Europe have such a stake in a successful Europe that they are not likely to let it happen if they can do anything about it. The U.S. is already sending aid to Russia and offering other assistance to help the emerging democratic nation develop in a way that will bolster the economy and prevent the nation from crumbling. A crumbling Russia would be a danger. The near anarchy of a few months ago as various legislators tried to take over the government was seen as such a threat, and no one wants that sort of action to succeed. If Russia is to become a fully democratic state, it will be because the nation manages to achieve economic stability and thus to foster the environment in which a democratic state can flourish.
Russia could become a miliary power once more and make use of military might to force compliance from neighboring states. Russia has more than enough clout to force the other states to comply with the Russian gove...